Public Records Detail Protracted Execution of Inmate Who Lost First Amendment Fight

I am really struck that, through public records, The Arizona Republic was able to learn that Arizona death row inmate Joseph Wood was injected 15 times with drugs midazolam and hydromorphone over a two-hour period before he was finally pronounced dead. It was supposed to just take two doses to kill him. The Associated Press reported he "gasped more than 600 times over the next hour and 40 minutes." But before Wood was executed he lost his First Amendment fight to find out the details of the state's methods for lethal injections, including where it obtains its supply of the drugs or the executioners' medical qualifications. While the Ninth Circuit put his execution on hold, according to the AP, the Supreme Court lifted the stay. So Wood couldn't get access to information before his execution. But it can be obtained after the fact.