Sentenced to death in the state of Alabama for an armed robbery that ended in the murder of a motel night watchman, Hamm spent 30 years on death row before his execution date by lethal injection was set.
An appointment that raised few problems, given that the prisoner fell ill with lymphoma and basal cell carcinoma, making it difficult, according to the medical staff, to be carried out according to the normal Alabama protocol.
Despite these problems and despite the fact that his upper limbs were unusable for the purpose, the IV execution team tried, without success, to exploit Hamm’s lower limbs and ankles.
From that moment on, about three hours passed during which the team tried in every way to reach the condemned man’s venous routes, inserting about ten needles which also pierced his bladder and femoral artery.
As midnight expired, the execution warrant ended and Hamm was led alive and well, albeit wounded and bleeding, out of the execution chamber.
The case caused a considerable media sensation and after a lawsuit between Hamm and the state of Alabama and various battles conducted by human rights associations, an agreement was reached that a second execution was not possible and his death sentence was converted to life imprisonment.