The Montgomery Advertiser’s Marty Roney, another journalist present at the execution,
filed a timeline describing what he witnessed when the curtain was opened.
From 7:57 to 8:01 p.m., “Smith writhed and convulsed on the gurney. He appeared to be fully conscious when the gas began to flow. He took deep breaths, his body shaking violently with his eyes rolling in the back of his head. [Reverend] Hood, standing about 15 feet away, made the sign of the cross several times.
“Smith clenched his fists, his legs shook under the tightly tucked-in white sheet that covered him from his neck down. He seemed to be gasping for air. The gurney shook several times during this time.”
Mr Smith’s religious adviser Reverend Jeff Hood
told reporters, “We didn’t see somebody go unconscious in 30 seconds. What we saw was minutes of somebody struggling for their life. We saw minutes of someone heaving back and forth. We saw spit. We saw all sorts of stuff from his mouth develop on the mask.”
“It was the most horrible thing I think I’ve ever seen,”
said Hood, who has witnessed five execution in the past 13 months. “I stood there and cried while I saw someone get suffocated.”