A man from South Carolina who had been sentenced to death and was considering death by firing squad changed his mind on Friday. Instead, he opted for lethal injection after observing another inmate take a longer time to die when the bullets seemed to have missed his heart.
Stephen Stanko was convinced by his lawyers that the lethal injection process involves a lethal dosage of pentobarbital being injected into the veins, causing a rush of fluid into the lungs, giving the sensation of drowning.
According to medical experts hired by the state, the drugs used in lethal injections make the inmate lose consciousness before feeling any pain. However, experts hired by the inmates argue that the rush of fluid into the lungs can mimic the feeling of drowning.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a delay to his June 13 execution Wednesday that was requested so he could learn more about his options.
Mikal Mahdi was executed in April. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
Stanko had been sentenced to death twice for two separate murders.
In April 2006, Stanko, 57, beat and strangled girlfriend Laura Ling to death and raped her teenage daughter and slit her throat. The daughter survived and testified against him at his trial.
Hours after the murder, he went to his 74-year-old friend Henry Turner’s home, shot him to death and stole his truck.
Defense attorney Gerald Kelly confers with defendant Stephen Stanko during a pretrial hearing at the Georgetown County Courthouse in Georgetown, S.C., July 31, 2006. (AP Photo/Tom Murray, Pool, File)
South Carolina resumed executions in September after a 13-year break after it ran out of lethal injection drugs and pharmacies refused to provide more unless a new secrecy law protected their privacy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
