DIY

Fuckin' beaurocracy, man, all that red tape just to replace an electrical panel and put up a fence. Can you imagine the hassles you would have to go through just to get legally executed by the state of California? Hoo boy, that must be like the DMV times ten. San Quentin death row inmate Nicholas Rodriguez decided to get all punk rock and take matters into his own hands by doing the job himself. Break it down!

While the clock ticked on his date with a lethal injection of potassium chloride, Rodriguez somehow managed to score enough drugs and the paraphernalia to get high.

Apparently a little too high. Early the morning of July 10, Rodriguez was found unconscious in the 5-by-8 cell where he spent 20 hours a day. He was rushed to a medical triage area, where a doctor declared him dead less than 20 minutes later.

"We found a syringe and heroin, so we suspect it was that," San Quentin spokesman Vernell Crittendon said after authorities searched Rodriguez's East Block cell.

Marin County assistant coroner Gary Tindel said his office was awaiting the results of toxicology tests before declaring a cause of death. He declined to speculate whether drugs were to blame.