Robert Mugabe resigns as Zimbabwe's president after 37 years

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who once vowed to rule for life, resigned on Tuesday, succumbing to a week of overwhelming pressure from the military that put him under house arrest, lawmakers from the ruling party and opposition who started impeachment proceedings and a population that surged into the streets to say 37 years in power was enough.

Zimbabweans gather to pray for the country in a park opposite the parliament building in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The capital, Harare, erupted in jubilation after news spread that the 93-year-old leader's resignation letter had been read out by the speaker of parliament, whose members had gathered to impeach Mugabe after he ignored escalating calls to quit since a military takeover. Well into the night, cars honked and people danced and sang in a spectacle of free expression that would have been impossible during his years in power, whose early promise after the end of white minority rule in 1980 was overtaken by economic collapse, government dysfunction and human rights violations.

An unemployed man reads up on Zimbabwean constitutional law to understand the process of possible presidential impeachment, in a park opposite the parliament building in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

"Welcome to the new Zimbabwe!" people chanted outside the conference center where the lawmakers had met. "This is the best day of my life," one man declared as euphoric citizens celebrated on top of cars, clustered around a tank and shook hands with soldiers who were hailed as saviors for their role in dislodging Mugabe, a once-formidable politician who crushed dissent or sidelined opponents but, in the end, was a lonely figure abandoned by virtually all his allies.

"Change was overdue. ... Maybe this change will bring jobs," said 23-year-old Thomas Manase, an unemployed university graduate.

Chris Mutsvangwa, head of Zimbabwe's association of war veterans, speaks to The Associated Press calling for President Robert Mugabe to step down immediately, in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

It was a call echoed by many, and which pointed to the challenges ahead for Zimbabwe, which used to be a regional breadbasket but has since suffered hyperinflation, cash shortages, chronic mismanagement and massive joblessness. And, while Zimbabweans seemed almost universally united in their wish to see an end to the Mugabe era, the hard work of building institutions and preparing for what they hope are free and fair elections scheduled for next year has yet to begin.

Mugabe, who was the world's oldest head of state, said in his resignation letter that legal procedures should be followed to install a new president "no later than tomorrow."

Members of Zimbabwe's association of war veterans sing old songs from the war of independence at a press conference held by their leader Chris Mutsvangwa, in which he called for President Robert Mugabe to step down "yesterday", in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

"My decision to resign is voluntary on my part and arises from my concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire for a smooth, non-violent transfer of power," Mugabe said in the message read out by parliamentary speaker Jacob Mudenda.

Recently ousted Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa was to take over as the country's leader within 48 hours so that he can move "with speed to work for the country," said a ruling party official, Lovemore Matuke. Mnangagwa, who fled the country after his Nov. 6 firing, "is not far from here," Matuke added.

People stand on the balcony of the parliament building in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. The ruling ZANU-PF party was poised to begin impeachment proceedings Tuesday against Mugabe after its Central Committee voted to oust the president as party leader. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Mugabe's resignation ended impeachment proceedings brought by the ruling ZANU-PF party after its Central Committee voted to oust him as party leader and replace him with Mnangagwa, a former justice and defense minister who served for decades as Mugabe's enforcer, a role that earned him the moniker, "Crocodile." Many opposition supporters detest Mnangagwa and believe he was instrumental in the army killings of thousands of people when Mugabe moved against a political rival in the 1980s.

So far, Mnangagwa has used inclusive language, saying in a statement before Mugabe's resignation that all Zimbabweans should work together to advance their nation.

Demonstrators protest outside the Zimbabwean Parliament in Harare, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017 calling for Parliament to impeach President Robert Mugabe who has been in power for nearly four decades. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

"Never should the nation be held at ransom by one person ever again, whose desire is to die in office at whatever cost to the nation," Mnangagwa said.

Zimbabwe's military commander, Gen. Constantino Chiwenga, warned people not to target old adversaries following Mugabe's resignation. "Acts of vengeful retribution or trying to settle scores will be dealt with severely," he said.

Demonstrators protest outside the Zimbabwean Parliament in Harare, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017 calling for Parliament to impeach President Robert Mugabe who has been in power for nearly four decades.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Zimbabweans to maintain calm. The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe said Mugabe's resignation "marks an historic moment" and that "the path forward" should lead to free and fair elections. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Mugabe was "a despot who impoverished his country" and his exit is a "moment of joy" for Zimbabwe.

The end for Mugabe came when his wife, Grace Mugabe, positioned herself to succeed her husband, leading a party faction that engineered Mnangagwa's ouster. The prospect of a dynastic succession alarmed the military, which confined Mugabe to his home last week and targeted what it called "criminals" around him who allegedly were looting state resources — a reference to associates of the first lady.

Protesters calling for the impeachment of President Robert Mugabe demonstrate outside the parliament building in Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. Zimbabwe's political turmoil continues Tuesday as Parliament has begun impeachment proceedings against Mugabe. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In his early days as leader, after a long war between black guerrillas and the white rulers of Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known before independence, Mugabe stressed education and built new schools. Tourism and mining flourished. But in 2000, violent seizures of thousands of white-owned farms began, causing agricultural production to plunge. A land reform program was supposed to take much of the country's most fertile land and redistribute it to poor blacks, but Mugabe instead gave prime farms to ZANU-PF leaders and loyalists, relatives and cronies.

A demonstrator holds a placard demanding President Robert Mugabe to resign while seated in a tree outside parliament building in Harare, Tuesday, Nov, 21, 2017. Parliament opened in Zimbabwe as the ruling party seeks to impeach President Robert Mugabe after nearly four decades in power. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

As the years went by, Mugabe was widely accused of hanging onto power through violence and vote fraud, notably in a 2008 election that led to a troubled coalition government after regional mediators intervened. Still, he cast himself as a voice of pride and defiance in modern Africa, a message that resonated in many countries that had experienced Western colonialism or intervention.

Protesters calling for the impeachment of President Robert Mugabe demonstrate outside the parliament building in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Mugabe once said he wanted to rule for life, expressing a desire to live until he is 100 years old. He also said he was ready to retire if asked to do so by his supporters.

A year ago, he said: "If I am to retire, let me retire properly."

Protesters calling for the impeachment of President Robert Mugabe ride in a truck as they demonstrate in front of the parliament building in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Zimbabweans celebrate at night at an intersection in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. Mugabe resigned as president with immediate effect Tuesday after 37 years in power, shortly after parliament began impeachment proceedings against him. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Zimbabweans drink, dance, and sing as they celebrate at night at an intersection in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. Mugabe resigned as president with immediate effect Tuesday after 37 years in power, shortly after parliament began impeachment proceedings against him. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Zimbabweans celebrate after Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe resigned in Harare, Tuesday, Nov, 21, 2017. The streets of Zimbabwe's capital have erupted in dancing, singing, honking and cheers after Mugabe announced his immediate resignation after 37 years in power. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A Zimbabwean dances on the roof of a vehicle as he and others celebrate outside the parliament building immediately after hearing the news that President Robert Mugabe had resigned, in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Zimbabweans celebrate outside the parliament building immediately after hearing the news that President Robert Mugabe had resigned, in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017.(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Zimbabweans celebrate outside the parliament building immediately after hearing the news that President Robert Mugabe had resigned, in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Zimbabweans celebrate outside the parliament building immediately after hearing the news that President Robert Mugabe had resigned, in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Zimbabweans celebrate in Harare, Tuesday, Nov, 21, 2017, after the resignation of President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe says he is resigning immediately and voluntarily in order to have a "smooth transfer of power" after 37 years in charge. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Protesters calling for the impeachment of President Robert Mugabe demonstrate outside the parliament building in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Protesters calling for the impeachment of President Robert Mugabe ride on top of a minibus as they demonstrate in front of the parliament building in Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. Zimbabwe's Parliament on Tuesday has begun impeachment proceedings against Mugabe.(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Demonstrators hold placards during a demonstration outside parliament building in Harare, Tuesday Nov. 21, 2017. Parliament opened in Zimbabwe as the ruling party seeks to impeach President Robert Mugabe after nearly four decades in power. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Demonstrators hold placards during a demonstration outside parliament building in Harare, Tuesday, Nov, 21, 2017. Parliament opened in Zimbabwe as the ruling party seeks to impeach President Robert Mugabe after nearly four decades in power. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Protesters calling for the impeachment of President Robert Mugabe hold a placard of Zimbabwean Army General Constantino Chiwenga, left, as they demonstrate in front of the parliament building in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Morgan Tsvangirai, the main opposition leader in Zimbabwe addresses protestors outside parliament building in Harare, Tuesday, Nov, 21, 2017. Parliament opened in Zimbabwe as the ruling party seeks to impeach President Robert Mugabe after nearly four decades in power. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

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)