R.I.P. Roy Blankenship

Roman Colosseum lit to protest an execution

On June 23, 2011, Georgia executed Roy Blankenship for the 1978 rape-murder of  78-year old Sarah Bowen.  He was the first person put to death in Georgia with pentobarbital as part of the execution drug cocktail. After Georgia's supply of illegally imported sodium thiopental was seized by the DEA, it decided to substitute pentobarbital.  Blankenship's attorneys challenged the use of pentobarbital, contending it was unsafe and unreliable, and would risk needless pain and suffering. 

It was reported that "as the injection began, [Blankenship] jerked his head toward his left arm and made a startled face while blinking rapidly. He soon lurched to his right arm, lunging with his mouth agape twice. He then held his head up, and his chin smacked as he mouthed words that were inaudible to observers.  Within three minutes, his movements slowed."  Kathryn Hamoudah of Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty stated:"It is unconscionable that Georgia would experiment with untested and potentially harmful drugs on a human being."

This is the 24th execution in the United States in 2011, the second in Georgia.