Sunday, August 7, 2011

Jacqueline M. Martin, M.D. - the hearing in Miami

http://www.floridasupport.us/lethal/Valle/ED74Fd01.txt
 From the teastinmony of :

Jacqueline M. Martin, M.D.
On Thursday July 28, 2011 the State called Jacqueline M. Martin, M.D., as a witness. Without objection she was sworn by both the clerk of Courts in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and a court reporter authorized to give an oath in New York, N.Y. from where the witness testified by telephone.
She stated that she was a witness to the June 23, 2011 execution of Roy Blankenship in Georgia. She is a physician licensed to practice in Georgia and also the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She obtained her medical degree from Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico in 1985. She has also acted as Deputy Medical Examiner in Rochester, N.Y. and from 1997-1999 she was the Medical Examiner in Palm Beach County, Florida. Though she is not a clinical physician she was trained in medical school to administer anesthesia. This was the third execution that she attended.
According to Dr. Martin she sat on the front row in the witness viewing area. She could see clearly from where she was and could see into the execution chamber. She was about 5 feet away from the inmate. Blankenship was strapped
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down with I.V. lines in each arm. There was a nurse on the right of the gurney and officers to the left and right. The warden read the execution order and left. Two (2) to three (3) minutes after the warden left, Blankenship looked to his left arm and moved his mouth-he had no teeth-and looked at his right arm, put his head down on the pillow and stayed put. She saw no obvious signs of distress or facial features indicating pain.
She did not consult with the Department of Corrections or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation afterward. It is part of her duties as M.E. to view the execution.
Dr. Martin‘s testimony is consistent with that of Mr. Harper. She is a medical professional who could see Blankenship‘s actions and facial features. Her interpretation of his reactions to the drugs substantiate that Blankenship in no way experienced pain or suffering.

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