FLORENCE, Ariz. -- An Arizona man convicted of killing a college student in 1978 was put to death Wednesday after a nearly eight-year hiatus in the state's use of the death penalty that was brought on by an execution that critics say was botched -- and the difficulty state officials faced in sourcing lethal injection drugs.
Clarence Dixon, 66, died by lethal injection at the state prison in Florence for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin, making him the sixth person to be executed in the U.S. in 2022. Dixon's death was announced late Wednesday morning by Frank Strada, a deputy director with Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.
Dixon's death appeared to go smoothly, said Troy Hayden, an anchor for the Fox10 TV news program who witnessed the execution.
Hayden said Dixon delivered his last words after the injection, saying: "Maybe I'll see you on the other side, Deana. I don't know you, and I don't remember."
In the final weeks of Dixon's life, his lawyers tried to postpone the execution, but judges rejected the argument that he was not mentally fit to be executed and did not have a rational understanding of why the state wanted to execute him. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute delay of Dixon's execution less than an hour before the execution began.
Shortly before he was executed with pentobarbital, Strada said Dixon declared: "The Arizona Supreme Court should follow the laws. They denied my appeals and petitions to change the outcome of this trial. I do and will always proclaim innocence. Now, let's do this [expletive]."
And as prison medical staff put an IV line in Dixon's thigh in preparation for the injection, he chided them, saying: "This is really funny -- trying to be as thorough as possible while you are trying to kill me."
States including Arizona have struggled to buy execution drugs in recent years after U.S. and European pharmaceutical companies began blocking the use of their products in lethal injections.
Authorities have said Bowdoin, who was found dead in her apartment in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, had been raped, stabbed and strangled with a belt.
Dixon, who lived across the street from Bowdoin, had been charged with raping Bowdoin, but the rape charge was later dropped on statute-of-limitation grounds. He was convicted of murder in her killing.
In arguing that Dixon was mentally unfit, his lawyers said he erroneously believed he would be executed because police at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff wrongfully arrested him in another case -- a 1985 attack on a 21-year-old student. His attorneys conceded he was lawfully arrested by Flagstaff police.
Information for this article was contributed by Bob Christie of The Associated Press.
Media pool witness Taylor Tasler from KTAR talks to the media on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Florence, Ariz. Inmate Clarence Dixon was put to death by lethal injection earlier Wednesday inside the state prison for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin in 1978. Dixon was the first person to be executed in the state after a nearly eight-year hiatus in its use of the death penalty. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Leslie Bowdoin James, sister of Deana Lynne Bowdoin talks to the media on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Florence, Ariz. Inmate Clarence Dixon was put to death by lethal injection earlier Wednesday inside the state prison for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin in 1978. Dixon was the first person to be executed in the state after a nearly eight-year hiatus in its use of the death penalty. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Media pool witness Paul Davenport with the Associated Press talks to the media on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Florence, Ariz. Inmate Clarence Dixon was put to death by lethal injection earlier Wednesday inside the state prison for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin in 1978. Dixon was the first person to be executed in the state after a nearly eight-year hiatus in its use of the death penalty. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Leslie Bowdoin James, sister of Deana Lynne Bowdoin talks to the media on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Florence, Ariz. Inmate Clarence Dixon was put to death by lethal injection earlier Wednesday inside the state prison for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin in 1978. Dixon was the first person to be executed in the state after a nearly eight-year hiatus in its use of the death penalty. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections shows Clarence Dixon. A judge ruled Tuesday, May 3, 2022, that an Arizona prisoner convicted in the 1978 killing of a university student is mentally fit to be put to death next week. Dixon was convicted of murder in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry via AP, File)
Charles Keith stands outside the state prison Wednesday, May 11, 2022 in Florence, Ariz. Inmate Clarence Dixon is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday inside the state prison for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin in 1978. Dixon will become the first person to be executed in the state after a nearly eight-year hiatus in its use of the death penalty. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Charles Keith stands outside the state prison Wednesday, May 11, 2022 in Florence, Ariz. Inmate Clarence Dixon is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday inside the state prison for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin in 1978. Dixon will become the first person to be executed in the state after a nearly eight-year hiatus in its use of the death penalty. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The state prison is seen early, Wednesday, May 11, 2022 in Florence, Ariz. Inmate Clarence Dixon is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday inside the state prison for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin in 1978. Dixon will become the first person to be executed in the state after a nearly eight-year hiatus in its use of the death penalty. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Chief Counsel, Arizona Voice For Crime Victims and Attorney for Leslie James, Colleen Chase talks to the media on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Florence, Ariz. Inmate Clarence Dixon was put to death by lethal injection earlier Wednesday inside the state prison for his murder conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin in 1978. Dixon was the first person to be executed in the state after a nearly eight-year hiatus in its use of the death penalty. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)