A condemned killer appeared to gasp several times during his prolonged execution with the first use of a lethal injection process never before tried in the US Dennis McGuire made several loud snorting or snoring sounds during the more than 15 minutes it appeared to take him to die.
It was one of the longest executions since Ohio resumed capital punishment in 1999.
McGuire's stomach rose and fell several times as he repeatedly opened and shut his mouth.
McGuire's adult children sobbed nearby in a witness room as they watched him die.
McGuire was sentenced to die for the 1989 rape and fatal stabbing of a young pregnant woman.
