Joseph Wood was supposed to go quickly and painlessly , when the State of Arizona put him to death by lethal injection on Wednesday . It took nearly two hours for him to die . Journalists called to witness the execution said it was hard to watch , as Wood snorted and gasped . One described it like a `` fish on shore gulping for air . '' Arizona officials defended the procedure , saying that the proper protocols were followed . Human Rights Watch has compiled a list of U.S. executions between 1982 and 2006 , which it considers `` botched . '' It 's hard to spot an example on that list of an execution that drew out nearly as long as Wood 's did . His lawyers call it a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights against `` cruel and unusual punishment . '' They severely criticized the novel combination of two drugs used in the procedure . Wood 's slow death on Wednesday is fueling a debate that has kicked up as states try out new drug alternatives for lethal injection , after the sole U.S. manufacturer stopped making a key drug previously used . Here are some answers to basic questions about the controversy surrounding the new drug combinations . 1 . What drug combination did Arizona use ? Midazolam , which is an anesthetic used sometimes in surgery , and hydromorphone , a narcotic pain killer , commonly known by its brand name Dilaudid . The anesthetic is thought to render the inmate unconscious for the execution . An overdose of hydromorphone causes death by shutting down breathing and stopping the heart from beating . Lethal injections usually proceed in stages , with one drug injected first , another second and , in some cases , a third drug last . All of them in high doses . A very common combination has traditionally involved three drugs : . -- An anesthetic to make the inmate unconscious . -- Then a paralyzing agent to keep him or her from flailing . -- Then a third drug , often potassium chloride , to stop the heart . Some states feel that overdoses of two drugs are enough , and there is a new movement afoot in some states to reduce it to a single drug , according to Fordham University School of Law . In Arizona , on Wednesday , Wood received the midazolam first , then the hydromorphone . 2 . Why is the new combination controversial ? The controversy surrounding the relatively new combination seems to center more on midazolam . Two other recent executions that appeared to turn ugly had it as an ingredient : . -- Dennis McGurie started wheezing after receiving both drugs in Ohio in January . He gasped , and his chest and stomach heaved , a journalist witness said . He made choking sounds and clenched his fists . McGurie had been convicted of rape and murder . -- Oklahoma injected Clayton Lockett with midazolam in April . But instead of becoming unconscious , he twitched , convulsed and spoke . The execution was halted , but Lockett died anyhow after 43 minutes . Officials blamed the botched execution on a burst vein . Lockett had been convicted of murder . Before McGurie received the combination , experts warned of the possible adverse reaction . And according to the National Institutes of Health , midazolam 's side effects can include uncontrollable shaking , seizures and difficulty breathing . 3 . Why the new drug combinations ? For years -- in the three-drug method mentioned above -- sodium thiopental was injected first as the anesthetic , but its sole U.S. manufacturer , Illinois based Hospira , stopped producing it . In 2011 , it entered into a production deal in Italy , where the death penalty is illegal , and the company had to promise its product would not be used in the United States for executions . Since it felt it could n't guarantee that , it shut down the production . The European Union has banned its manufacturers from exporting sodium thiopental to the United States for the same reason . 4 . Did executions work well with the previous drug ? CNN has not been able to find cases , in which the administration of previous execution drug combinations led to such prolonged deaths , but the use of sodium thiopental has also found its critics . They have attacked the drug itself and also question the professionalism of its application . Scientists from the University of Miami have said that the anesthesia does n't last long enough , and as a result , an inmate may become alert during the execution . But the paralyzing agent administered after the anesthetic may prevent him or her from letting anyone know that he or she is awake . The inmate may be silent and still but experience the administration of the third , deadly drug consciously . `` It would be a cruel way to die , '' they wrote , `` awake , paralyzed , unable to move , to breathe , while potassium burned through your veins . '' The scientists also have complained that executioners had no training in anesthesia . The three-drug method was developed by an medical examiner in Oklahoma and passed on to prison personnel , they said . The result , the scientists fear , is inmates suffering through their executions eyes wide opened . Opinion : 5 ways to improve the U.S. death penalty . Death penalty facts that may surprise you . Oklahoma 's botched lethal injection marks new front in battle over executions .
Joseph Wood was supposed to die quickly and painlessly . But he stayed alive for two hours after being injected with a novel combination of drugs . His protracted death has stirred controversy over states looking for new lethal drugs .