https://apnews.com/article/arizona-united-states-executions-phoenix-state-university-978013320623b716eba4ab15ddbb7b2a

Clarence Dixon dies in Arizona’s 1st execution since 2014
By PAUL DAVENPORT and JACQUES BILLEAUD

FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona man convicted of killing a college student in 1978 was put to death Wednesday after a nearly eight-year hiatus in the state’s use of the death penalty brought on by an execution that critics say was botched — and the difficulty state officials faced in sourcing lethal injection drugs.

Clarence Dixon, 66, died by lethal injection at the state prison in Florence for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin, making him the sixth person to be executed in the U.S. in 2022. Dixon’s death was announced late Wednesday morning by Frank Strada, a deputy director with Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.

Dixon’s death appeared to go smoothly, said Troy Hayden, an anchor for the Fox10 TV news program who witnessed the execution.

“Once the drugs started flowing, he went to sleep almost immediately,” Hayden said.

After the drugs were injected, Dixon’s mouth stayed open and his body did not move, Hayden and other witnesses said. The execution was declared completed about 10 minutes after he was injected.

Hayden said Dixon delivered his last words after the injection, saying: “Maybe I’ll see you on the other side, Deana. I don’t know you, and I don’t remember.”