Florida has had its share of botched executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Prisoners were executed by the state using the electric chair until 2000, when the Florida Legislature gave inmates the option of a lethal injection, which included the sedative pentobarbital, a paralyzing drug called vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride, the final drug that causes cardiac arrest. Florida's supply of pentobarbital fell short when the drug's makers refused to ship it, so in 2013, the state became the first in the nation to use the sedative midazolam hydrochloride in the lethal cocktail. Below are some of Florida's most notorious botched executions in modern history.
Jesse Joseph Tafero, 1990: During his execution via the electric chair, Tafero's head erupted into flames, and it took three shocks for him to stop breathing. Tafero, who was accused of shooting and killing two law enforcement officers, was later found to be innocent.
Pedro Medina, 1997: Medina, who was convicted for the murder of a 52-year-old Orlando woman, was executed using the electric chair. Witness reportedly saw the chair malfunction and flames shoot out near the mask Medina was wearing.
Allen Lee Davis, 1999: The last Florida inmate executed using the electric chair, Davis was convicted of killing a woman and her two children. During his execution, blood poured from his face onto his shirt, and he was alive for about 10 minutes after executioners pulled the plug.
