{"id":334230,"date":"2017-07-05T16:51:01","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T16:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=334230"},"modified":"2017-07-05T16:51:01","modified_gmt":"2017-07-05T16:51:01","slug":"virginia-set-to-execute-man-using-potentially-tortuous-drug-cocktail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/07\/virginia-set-to-execute-man-using-potentially-tortuous-drug-cocktail\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia set to execute man using ‘potentially tortuous’ drug cocktail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virginia\u00a0is preparing to kill a 32-year-old man using a controversial lethal injection formula that may have subjected the last prisoner to be executed by the state to an excruciating death equivalent to drowning.<\/p>\n

William Morva is set to be put to death on Thursday using a cocktail of three medical drugs. Two of the chemicals have been obtained from compounding pharmacies \u2013 private outlets that are not subject to the full regulatory regime followed by regular drug manufacturers.<\/p>\n

As a result, the drugs can be of variable quality and strength. New evidence relating to the Virginia execution of Ricky Gray six months ago suggests that the patchy consistency of the lethal drugs may have caused a terrifying outcome.<\/p>\n

The deceased prisoner\u2019s family has obtained Gray\u2019s official autopsy report, which was carried out in January and is being revealed by the Guardian for the first time. It contains alarming evidence of potentially extreme distress on the inmate\u2019s part.<\/p>\n

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The autopsy report contains routine information about the prisoner\u2019s body, such as the \u201cCoolie High\u201d tattoo he had on his right arm and that he was dressed in blue jeans, shirt and boxer shorts. It also discloses details of a highly rare and disturbing nature.<\/p>\n

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It notes that \u201cblood-tinged fluid is present from the mouth\u201d and that \u201cthe upper airways contains foamy liquid\u201d. It also finds that the body\u2019s lungs were \u201cseverely congested\u201d and that there were \u201cred cells present in the airways\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mark Edgar, an associate professor of pathology at Emory University school of medicine has examined the autopsy report and said that its finding of a frothy liquid in the upper airways was very unusual. It was an indication, he said, of acute pulmonary edema, in which fluid collects in the lungs and overwhelms an individual\u2019s ability to breathe.<\/p>\n

The presence of foamy liquid in the upper airways is only found in the most severe cases of the condition, which can come from acute heart failure or actual drowning. Edgar said he could not say for certain why the edema happened in the course of Gray\u2019s execution, but he was sure about the human consequences of something akin to drowning from within.<\/p>\n