The Latest: Official: Inmate scream not from execution drugs

Authorities say they don't believe the loud scream that came from the mouth of a Florida inmate as he was being put to death in Florida for a 1993 rape and murder was caused by the lethal injection procedure.

Forty-seven-year-old inmate Eric Scott Branch received the lethal drugs Thursday evening at the Florida State Prison in Starke. Branch was convicted of raping and killing 21-year-old college student Susan Morris in 1993. He screamed and shouted "murderers!" repeatedly.

Asked whether Branch's scream could have been caused by the execution drugs, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Michelle Glady said afterward that "there was no indication" of that. She says that conclusion was confirmed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The murder victim's family later released a statement saying they are still grieving the young woman's death a quarter century ago. Wendy Morris Hill, the victim's sister, read a statement declaring the slain woman "will never be forgotten by those who love her."

A Florida inmate convicted of raping and killing a college student decades ago screamed and yelled "murderers!" repeatedly as he was being put to death.

Authorities say 47-year-old Eric Scott Branch was pronounced dead Thursday evening after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison. Branch was convicted of the 1993 rape and fatal beating of 21-year-old college student Susan Morris, whose naked body was found buried in a shallow grave.

Source: Yahoo News