Doyle Lee Hamm punctured at least 11 times in execution attempt, report states

Execution officials punctured death row inmate Doyle Lee Hamm's lower legs and groin at least 11 times in an attempt to find a usable vein for lethal injection before the Alabama Department of Corrections called off a Feb. 22 execution attempt. 

Hamm's legal team on Monday filed a doctor's report with the U.S. District Court which states the execution attempt was so painful the inmate wanted to "get it over with" instead of enduring more needle punctures. 

Dr. Mark Heath, a New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital doctor retained by Harcourt, examined Hamm three days after the botched execution. Heath reports Hamm has infected lymph nodes in his right groin and is at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder.

“This went beyond ghoulish justice and cruel and unusual punishment,” wrote Hamm's attorney Bernard Harcourt in a Columbia Law School blog post. “It was torture."

The Montgomery Advertiser requested an interview with Alabama Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn following the filing of the report. 

“The Alabama Department of Corrections disagrees with the attorney’s claim," ALDOC spokesman Bob Horton wrote in an emailed statement.

Hamm told Heath a man in the execution chamber called off the attempt after he began to bleed from his groin. 

Hamm was convicted of killing Cullman motel clerk Patrick Cunningham in 1987 during the course of a robbery.

His legal team had previously argued in court his veins were too damaged to access due to past drug use and treatment for lymphatic cancer. The Associated Press in February reported that the Alabama prison officials were confident that Hamm had "usable veins" below his knees.

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the execution could proceed around 9 p.m. on Feb. 22, Hamm said two men worked simultaneously to connect an IV line to his lower extremities. He estimated the two worked for about a half hour. Photos included in the court document show significant bruising in the feet and ankle area. 

After five attempts in his lower legs, Hamm said a doctor moved to his right upper thigh and groin area. The report states there is some overlap of approximately six puncture wounds there, making it "difficult to determine" an exact number of separate puncture wounds. No attempts were made to access veins in Hamm's left groin area. 

Hamm told Heath that after each skin penetration, he felt "multiple probing advances and withdrawals" of the needle. 

"The doctor requested a new needle several times. During this time Mr. Hamm began to hope that the doctor would succeed in obtaining IV access so that Mr. Hamm could “get it over with” because he preferred to die rather than to continue to experience the ongoing severe pain," Heath wrote in the report. 

Heath reports the execution was halted after Hamm began bleeding from his groin

"At one point a large amount of blood began to accumulate in the region of Mr. Hamm’s groin. The blood soaked a pad or drape, and another one was applied. A man who had been watching from the foot of the gurney and talking on a cellphone began frowning," the report states. "This man left the room several times, each time returning after a few minutes. The final time this man entered the room he stated that the execution was over."

After the attempt was called off, Hamm was unable to support his own weight and correctional officers had to carry him back to a holding cell, the report states. 

Dunn told the Associated Press the prison system stopped the execution around 11:30 p.m. after medical staff said they did not think they could obtain "the appropriate venous access" before midnight, when the legal death warrant expired.

More:Alabama postpones execution of inmate with damaged veins

"It was a time issue," Dunn said. "I wouldn't necessarily characterize what we had tonight as a problem. ... The only indication I have is that in their medical judgment it was more of a time issue given the late hour."

After Hamm's execution was called off, Harcourt told the AP the state should be "ashamed."

"This is exactly what I have been saying since July. Since July, I have been telling the state of Alabama that Doyle Lee Hamm does not have adequate veins for a lethal injection," Harcourt said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.