On this day, Dec. 7, in 1982, Texas murderer Charles Brooks Jr. became the first condemned prisoner in the world to be executed by lethal injection. Brooks was put to death for the 1976 kidnapping and murder of a Fort Worth mechanic.

The execution team could not find a suitable vein and had to get help from a doctor. At 12:09 a.m., the deadly dose was injected into Brooks’ body. At 12:16 a.m., he was pronounced dead.

Recommended Stories

Don’t blame the pro-life movement for Republican losses

I stared down the ‘Blind Sheikh’ for the FBI. What’s happening today is far more dangerous

First round of November Social Security payments goes out in 9 days