Mentally ill man set to die in Arkansas ‘conveyor belt’ executions

Last modified on Thursday 13 April 2017 07.54 EDT
At some time after 7pm on Monday night, Bruce Ward will be escorted into the death chamber in the Cummins Unit in Arkansas, strapped to a gurney, and have IV lines inserted into his veins. The lines will run through a hole in the wall to a “chemical room” separated from the main chamber by a one-way mirror, and behind that glass two executioners will sit who, when the word is given, will plunge syringes containing three deadly drugs into him.

If the procedure goes according to plan, Ward will sink into a deep sedation caused by the first drug, have his muscles paralysed by the second, and then the third will stop his heart. If it doesn’t, he can look forward to a death that is prolonged, agonizing, and grotesque for those unfortunate enough to witness it.

Either way, Ward, 60, is unlikely to understand what will be happening to him.

From his perspective, he is certain to survive the triple lethal injection and walk out of the prison to fabulous wealth and public acclaim, then go on to found an evangelical ministry that will spread God’s love through the power of his preaching.

Since 1986, under the Ford v Wainwright ruling of the US supreme court, reinforced by Panetti v Quarterman in 2007, states have been banned from executing prisoners who are insane or incapable of understanding the reason they are about to be put to death. Yet Arkansas appears to be hurtling towards just such an outcome in its determined rush to kill Ward, who has consistently displayed signs of mental illness for almost 30 years.

Continue to theguardian.com article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/13/arkansas-executions-death-penalty-bruce-earl-ward