Mugabe emerges from house arrest amid pressure to exit

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe emerged for the first time Friday from military-imposed house arrest, presiding at a university graduation ceremony in a fragile show of normalcy even as former loyalists across the country demanded that he resign after nearly four decades in power.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe sits for formal photographs with university officials, after presiding over a student graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe Friday, Nov. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In an extraordinary evening newscast, state broadcaster ZBC — for decades, a mouthpiece for the Mugabe government — reported on the surging campaign for his ouster and showed video of ruling party members saying he should resign.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, center, arrives to preside over a student graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe Friday, Nov. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Clad in a blue academic gown, the 93-year-old leader earlier joined academics on a red carpet and sat in a high-backed chair in front of several thousand students and guests, a routine he has conducted for many years as the official chancellor of Zimbabwe's universities.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, center, sits for formal photographs with university officials, after presiding over a student graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe Friday, Nov. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

This time, however, the spectacle was jarring because the authority of the world's oldest head of state, once seen as impregnable, is evaporating daily.

An election poster from the 2008 Zanu Pf election campaign on the wall of a dilapidated old building in the Mbara suburb of Harare, Friday Nov. 17, 2017. Zimbabwe's military says it is making "significant progress" in talks with President Robert Mugabe for his departure while it pursues and arrests some allies of the leader and his wife. (AP Photo)

That Mugabe was permitted to go to the Zimbabwe Open University event possibly reflected a degree of respect by the military for the president, a former rebel leader who took power after independence from white minority rule in 1980. The armed forces are in a delicate position, sending tanks and troops into Harare's streets this week to effectively end the Mugabe era, while refraining from more heavy-handed measures that would heighten accusations that they staged a coup and violated the constitution.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, left, confers awards for the students with the leading theses, as he presides over a graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe Friday, Nov. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Meanwhile, the ruling ZANU-PF party signaled impatience with Mugabe amid negotiations on his exit. Party branches passed no-confidence votes in all 10 Zimbabwean provinces, and the state-run Zimbabwe Herald newspaper said all called for the resignation of Mugabe and his wife. They seek a special meeting within two days of the party's Central Committee.

Chris Mutsvangwa, chairman of the influential war veterans' association in Zimbabwe gestures during a news conference in Harare, Friday, Nov 17, 2017. (AP Photo)

Demonstrations were called for Saturday in Harare to support the military's move against Mugabe, who drew applause from the graduating students on the outskirts of the capital only when he made brief, perfunctory remarks, usually to bestow degrees on delighted graduates. The military said it supports plans for a march, as long as the demonstration is orderly and peaceful.

A military officer adjusts the chair for Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, center-right, to sit after arriving to preside over a student graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe Friday, Nov. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

"It was a long struggle," graduate Arthur Chipra said of the years of effort that went into his master's degree in conflict resolution. He declined to say anything when asked what he thought about Mugabe's presence at the ceremony, highlighting the lingering caution of many in a country where people have been prosecuted for criticizing the president.

Policewomen stand guard outside a tent where Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe prepares to leave, after presiding over a student graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe Friday, Nov. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Discontent with Mugabe has been growing because of the dire state of the economy, concerns about corruption and mismanagement, a sense that he is no longer physically capable of leading the country due to advanced age and the ambitions of his wife, Grace Mugabe, to succeed him.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, center right presides over a student graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe Friday, Nov. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

The military stepped into the factional battles of the ruling party on Wednesday after the firing of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is close to the armed forces and was heavily criticized by both Mugabes.

Chris Mutsvangwa, chairman of the influential war veterans' association in Zimbabwe, centre, gestures during a news conference in Harare, Friday, Nov 17, 2017. (AP Photo)

Chris Mutsvangwa, chairman of the influential war veterans' association in Zimbabwe gestures during a news conference in Harare, Friday, Nov 17, 2017. (AP Photo)

Mnangagwa, who fled Zimbabwe after his dismissal, will return only after the process to remove Mugabe is complete, high-level supporters told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters about the matter.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe arrives to make his first public appearance at a graduation ceremony on the outskirts of Harare, Friday, Nov. 17, 2017.(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for a return to civilian rule in Zimbabwe, urged any new leader to respect democracy and human rights, and said the country has a chance to put itself on a "new path."

Chris Mutsvangwa, chairman of the influential war veterans' association in Zimbabwe gestures during a news conference in Harare, Friday, Nov 17, 2017. (AP Photo)

China said it hopes Zimbabwe's political situation can be resolved "under the legal framework" and that stability can be restored.

Questions have been raised about China's possible role in Zimbabwe's affairs because Zimbabwe's army commander was in Beijing last week. China said the visit by Gen. Constantino Chiwenga was a "normal military exchange."

As Mugabe tries to hang on in negotiations over his departure from office, he has asked for "a few more days, a few more months," the chairman of the influential war veterans' association in Zimbabwe told reporters.

Chris Mutsvangwa, a Mnangagwa ally, said there is little tolerance for Mugabe to extend his presidency.

Several ruling party figures linked to Grace Mugabe — Jonathan Moyo, the higher education minister; Saviour Kasukuwere, the local government minister; and Ignatious Chombo, the finance minister — were detained during military operations, according to Mutsvangwa. Moyo was not at the graduation ceremony, even though he had been scheduled to attend.

The military said "significant progress has been made in their operation to weed out criminals around President Mugabe," saying they had committed "crimes that were causing social and economic suffering in Zimbabwe."

Photographs of talks at Mugabe's official residence show the president, Defense Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, Intelligence Minister Kembo Mohadi, South African Cabinet ministers who are acting as mediators and a local Catholic priest, the Rev. Fidelis Mukonori, whom Mugabe has used as a mediator before. Grace Mugabe was not pictured. Negotiations on Mugabe's exit come ahead of a key ruling party congress next month, and elections next year.

Women wash laundry in a dilapidated old building in the Mbara suburb of Harare, Friday Nov. 17, 2017. Zimbabwe's military says it is making "significant progress" in talks with President Robert Mugabe for his departure while it pursues and arrests some allies of the leader and his wife. (AP Photo)

A woman looks through a window in a dilapidated old building in the Mbara suburb of Harare, Friday Nov. 17, 2017. Zimbabwe's military says it is making "significant progress" in talks with President Robert Mugabe for his departure while it pursues and arrests some allies of the leader and his wife. (AP Photo)

Children stand beneath posters from the 2008 Zanu Pf election campaign in the Mbara suburb of Harare, Friday Nov. 17, 2017. Zimbabwe's military says it is making "significant progress" in talks with President Robert Mugabe for his departure while it pursues and arrests some allies of the leader and his wife. (AP Photo)

There was no obvious military presence at the university graduation that Mugabe attended. His security was handled by presidential guards. Burly men in suits surrounded him as he walked slowly out of the graduation tent after declaring — to applause — an end to the ceremony.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri's execution protocol allows for “surgery without anesthesia” if the typical process of finding a suitable vein to inject the lethal drug doesn't work, lawyers for a death row inmate say in an appeal aimed at sparing his life.

Brian Dorsey, 52, is scheduled for execution Tuesday for killing his cousin and her husband at their central Missouri home in 2006. His attorneys are seeking clemency from Gov. Mike Parson and have several appeals pending.

A federal court appeal focuses on how Missouri injects the fatal dose of pentobarbital. The written protocol calls for insertion of primary and secondary intravenous lines. But it offers no guidance on how far the execution team can go to find a suitable vein, leaving open the possibility of an invasive “cutdown procedure,” Dorsey's attorneys say.

The procedure involves an incision that could be several inches wide and several inches deep. Forceps are used to tear tissue away from a vein that becomes the injection point.

“It's surgery,” said Arin Brenner, a federal public defender and one of the attorneys representing Dorsey. “It would be surgery without anesthesia.”

Brenner said Dorsey faces a higher-than-normal risk of needing a cutdown because he is obese. His veins also might be compromised because he is diabetic and a former IV drug user.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Andrew Bailey didn't comment but referred to the state's response to the appeal.

“Cut-down procedures are rarely, if ever, used under Missouri’s execution protocol,” the response stated. “And in the event that a cut-down procedure were necessary, medical personnel have access to pain relieving medications.”

Medication would be inadequate and if the procedure is necessary, Dorsey should receive a local anesthetic, said Megan Crane, another attorney for him.

“It is extremely painful," Crane said. “Even if given an oral pain relief or an opioid, that will not relieve the pain.”

Lawyers for Dorsey say use of the surgical procedure would violate his constitutional guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment and also his right to religious freedom, because it would prevent him from having meaningful interaction with his spiritual adviser, including the administration of last rites.

The issue isn't theoretical. In Idaho, the scheduled execution of serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech in February was halted after a medical team unsuccessfully tried eight times establish an IV. It is unclear whether, when or how the state might try again to execute him.

Missouri's execution process is shrouded in secrecy, so it's impossible to know if, or how often, cutdown procedures have been required. No independent observer sees the IV line inserted. The spiritual adviser doesn't enter the room until the preparation is complete. Witnesses sit in dark rooms with curtains drawn until corrections officers open them seconds before the drug is injected.

Attorneys for Dorsey wonder if a cutdown procedure was used in January 2023 when Amber McLaughlin was executed. It was believed to be the first execution of an openly transgender person in the U.S.

The Rev. Lauren Bennett of St. Louis served as McLaughlin's spiritual adviser. She recalled McLaughlin saying, “Ouch, ouch, ouch. It hurts," but said McLaughlin was unable to explain the cause of her pain before her death.

Issues with the IV have been problematic in executions elsewhere.

In 2014, Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett was declared dead 43 minutes after his execution began, at times writhing in pain and clenching his teeth through the process. A state investigation showed that the execution team repeatedly failed to insert an IV line in his arms, jugular vein, foot and subclavian vein in the upper torso, before eventually running a line through a vein in Lockett’s groin.

The review found that Lockett died after the line came loose, and that the deadly chemicals were pumped into the tissue surrounding the injection site instead of directly into his bloodstream. There is no indication in the report that Lockett was ever given an anesthetic.

In 2022, it took more than three hours to execute Joe Nathan James Jr. in Alabama. The state said the process was delayed because of difficulties establishing an IV line. Dr. Joel Zivot, a professor of anesthesiology at Emory University and an expert on lethal injection who witnessed the private autopsy, said he saw “multiple puncture sites on both arms” and two incisions in the middle of the arm, which he said were indications of efforts to perform a cutdown. It's unclear if he received anesthesia.

Messages were left Friday with corrections officials in Oklahoma and Alabama.

Dorsey, formerly of Jefferson City, was convicted of killing his cousin, Sarah Bonnie, and her husband, Ben, on Dec. 23, 2006, at their home near New Bloomfield. Prosecutors said that earlier that day, Dorsey called Sarah Bonnie seeking to borrow money to pay two drug dealers who were at his apartment.

Dorsey went to the Bonnies’ home that night. After they went to bed, Dorsey took a shotgun from the garage and killed both of them before sexually assaulting Sarah Bonnie’s body, prosecutors said.

Sarah Bonnie’s parents found the bodies the next day. The couple’s 4-year-old daughter was unhurt.

In the clemency petition, 72 current and former state correctional officers asked Parson, a Republican and a former county sheriff, to commute Dorsey’s sentence to life in prison, citing his virtually spotless record of good behavior while in prison.

“The Brian I have known for years could not hurt anyone,” one officer wrote. “The Brian I know does not deserve to be executed.”

A spokesperson said Parson is still reviewing the clemency request.

An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court centers on the $12,000 flat fee for Dorsey's court-appointed trial attorneys. The appeal argues that with the flat fee, his lawyers had a financial incentive to resolve the case quickly. They encouraged Dorsey to plead guilty, but with no demand that prosecutors agree to life in prison instead of the death penalty.

Dorsey's attorneys also had asked the Missouri Supreme Court to stay the execution on the grounds that the Department of Corrections' acting director, Trevor Foley, has not been confirmed by the state Senate and is therefore unqualified to oversee an execution. The court denied that request Friday.

AP reporter Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed.

A photo released by the Federal Public Defender, shows inmate Brian Dorsey at the Potosi Correctional Center, Washington County, Missouri. Dorsey is scheduled to be executed Tuesday, April 9, 2024, for killing two people in 2006. (Jeremy Weis, Federal Public Defender via AP)

A photo released by the Federal Public Defender, shows inmate Brian Dorsey at the Potosi Correctional Center, Washington County, Missouri. Dorsey is scheduled to be executed Tuesday, April 9, 2024, for killing two people in 2006. (Jeremy Weis, Federal Public Defender via AP)