Critics decry execution that needed 2 doses of chemicals
STARKE, Fla. Death penalty opponents criticized the execution of a convicted murderer who took more than half an hour to die and needed a rare second dose of lethal chemicals.
Angel Nieves Diaz, 55, convicted of murdering a Miami topless bar manager 27 years ago, appeared to grimace before dying Wednesday, 34 minutes after the first dose.
Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said Diaz had liver disease, which required the second dose, and that she doesn’t believe Diaz felt any pain.
Diaz’s cousin Maria Otero said the family never had heard he suffered from liver disease.
Gov. Jeb Bush said the Department of Corrections followed all protocols.
A spokesman for Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty called Diaz’s death a botched execution.
“They had to execute him twice,” Mark Elliot said.
Diaz appeared to move for 24 minutes after the first injection. His eyes were open, his mouth opened and closed and his chest rose and fell. He was pronounced dead 10 minutes after his last movement.
Diaz’s final appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court challenged the chemicals used in the state’s procedure, saying they constitute cruel and unusual punishment. His appeals were rejected about an hour before his execution began.
– In most Florida executions
The prisoner loses consciousness almost immediately and stops moving within three to five minutes. Two doctors watching a heart monitor wait for it to show a flat line. They then inspect the body and pronounce death. The whole process happens within 15 minutes.
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Wildfire record set in 2006
The nation set a record for wildfires this year, and climate experts say 2006 probably will end as the third warmest year on record for the contiguous U.S. Drought and hot conditions contributed to the record wildfire season, with more than 9.5 million acres burned through early December, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
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FBI warns of potential attack
The health of terrorist cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as the Blind Sheik, is deteriorating–renewing fears that his death in prison could trigger an attack on the U.S., officials said Thursday. There is no credible indication that an attack on the U.S. is imminent, officials said, adding that the bulletin served as a reminder that Abdel-Rahman called for retaliation by sympathizers if he died in prison.
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Stranded climberturns on cell phone
One of three stranded climbers lost somewhere amid ice, billowing snow and gale-force winds on Oregon’s Mount Hood has been turning his phone off and on, authorities said Thursday, raising hopes for his rescue. T-Mobile received a signal from Kelly James’ cell phone Tuesday night, indicating it was back on, when it had been off. T-Mobile also reported that the cell phone initiated a call Monday.
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School evacuated after powder scare
An elementary school in Willingboro, N.J., was evacuated, a teacher sent to the hospital and her class quarantined Thursday after the woman opened an envelope containing white powder that later was found not to be hazardous, authorities said. The teacher reported some skin irritation on her hands and forearms, police said. A hazardous materials team determined the powder was not anthrax or any other hazardous substance.
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AND FINALLY
Mashed potatoes on sale
A grocery store manager was struck in the head with a 10-pound sack of potatoes by a customer angry about having to wait in line, police say. Police in Liberty, Ohio, say a 59-year-old woman from Youngstown is suspected in the attack. The customer was reported to be upset about the wait and struck the manager in the back of head with the potatoes when he was leaving.
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Breast cancer rates fall in U.S.
In a startling turnaround, breast cancer rates in the U.S. dropped dramatically in 2003, and experts said they believe it is because many women stopped taking hormone pills.
The 7.2 percent decline came a year after a big federal study linked menopause hormones to a higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease and other problems. Within months, millions of women stopped taking estrogen and progestin pills.
A new analysis of federal cancer statistics, presented Thursday at a breast cancer conference in Texas, revealed the drop in tumors.
About 200,000 cases of breast cancer had been expected in 2003; the drop means that about 14,000 fewer women actually were diagnosed with the disease.
Because breast cancer takes years to form, experts think that withdrawing hormones mostly caused small tumors that had been growing to stop or shrink, making them no longer detectable on mammograms. Whether this is true or will result in fewer cases over the long run will take more time to tell.
The next set of cancer statistics, for 2004, is due out in April.
Why do doctors think the 2003 drop is due largely to hormones?
Cases declined most among women 50 and older, with tumors whose growth is fueled by estrogen–the age group and type of cancer most affected by hormone use.
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FROM NEWS SERVICES
