As lethal execution drugs were being administered to Florida inmate Eric Scott Branch on Thursday evening, officials say the man let out a blood-curdling scream.
Then, Branch yelled "murderers! murderers! murderers!" as he thrashed on a gurney while being put to death for the 1993 rape and slaying of a college student.
The 47-year-old inmate, following the outburst, gave a last guttural groan and turned silent, according to a report by the Sun Sentinel.
The paper reports that minutes earlier, he had just been addressing corrections officers, saying it should fall to Florida Gov. Rick Scott and his attorney general to carry out the death sentence — not to those workers present.
"Let them come down here and do it," Branch said. "I've learned that you're good people and this is not what you should be doing."
Asked whether Branch's scream could have been caused by the execution drugs, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Michelle Glady said "there was no indication" that the inmate's last actions were a result of the injection procedure. That conclusion was confirmed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Branch was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. Thursday after receiving the injection at Florida State Prison in Starke. The governor's office made the announcement.