According to Dr. John Wikswo, a physics professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, it is not clear whether the bleeding sustained in Davis' execution is common or not. Nor is there any scientific basis that electrocution is either quick or painless. Wikswo, who testified in Florida last July in a separate hearing, said the body's nerves are stimulated during electrocution. The muscles contract painfully, and breathing ceases. The current also causes burns and loss of consciousness, though it is not known at what point unconsciousness actually occurs.
Death is caused primarily by suffocation.
While retribution is considered constitutional, Semel said, torture is not. While the Court may find that electrocution is constitutional, she said, it also could rule that Florida's system has flaws. However, Jeff Ashton, Assistant State Attorney in Orlando, believes the Court will rule on the broader meaning of cruel and unusual and not the specifics of the Davis case. But Florida-based defense attorney Kepler Funk said the Court will examine the Davis case in making its decision. While they disagree on how the Court will resolve the electrocution issue, most experts do agree that what is considered cruel and unusual depends on who is sitting on the bench.