The British medical journal, "Lancet" will report that about 40% of U.S. Prisoners executed were quite possibly aware of and suffered during their execution.
The way it works is that the prisoner first gets a drug to anesthetize him, then a drug to paralyze him and then a drug to kill him. The problem is the anesthetic is sometimes insufficient.
BBC NEWS | Health | Prisoners 'aware' in executions: "They add: 'The absence of training and monitoring, and the remote administration of drugs, coupled with eyewitness reports of muscle responses during execution, suggest that the current practice for lethal injection for execution fails to meet veterinary standards.'"
Or, put another way, we wouldn't treat a dog this way.
Thanks to John for the head's up on the article.