What Really Happens In Your Last 24 Hours On Death Row?

1. A Button Is Pushed

A prisoner's final 24 hours ends with the pushing of a button. The person designated to be the executioner is responsible for doing so, and in many states, there are two executioners on hand to do the job. Each one pushes their respective buttons, but neither knows whether or not their action delivered the fatal chemicals.

This is more for the executioner than anyone else, and it isn't always done in every prison. When the button has been pushed, a machine delivers a series of chemicals, one after the other. Each state sources their own chemicals, and they aren't always the same, but generally, they are as follows:

The first drug administered an anesthetic, which is often sodium thiopental. This puts the prisoner into a deep sleep, much like one you would have when undergoing surgery. Often, it takes as little as ten seconds to take its full effect. This is followed by a paralyzing agent, which is typically pancuronium bromide. The drug is a muscle relaxant, and its primary effect is to paralyze the diaphragm and lungs, ceasing all breathing.

The final drug is a toxic agent, though it's not used in all states. When it is administered, it's usually a lethal dose of potassium chloride, and its job is to stop the electrical signals that make a heart function, leading to cardiac arrest.

Once the prisoner's heart stops, and this is confirmed by a physician, the 24 hours come to an end, and the prisoner is declared to have been successfully executed.