In the United States of America, an incarcerated person cannot be executed before they are deemed fit to do so by medical personnel. An inmate can be deemed unfit for any number of reasons (e.g. being identified as insane, bleeding from a gunshot wound, unconscious due to head trauma etc.). Inmates are allowed to shower before the execution and they are permitted to wear clothing of their own choosing, doing away with prison attire if they so desire. Inmates are allowed to ask for additional food and drink during their last meal if they consume what was provided to them and reasonable requests for anything else are usually granted. It takes approximately 15 – 20 minutes to complete an execution from the time the inmate is brought from their holding cell to the execution chamber to the time they take their last breath. Strapping the inmate down takes approximately 2 minutes and the intravenous medication used for the execution takes approximately 15 minutes to take full effect. The lethal combination of medications are given in two steps, the first taking approximately 5 minutes before the secondary lethal dose is provided which also takes approximately 5 minutes after which time the inmate continues to live until the medication takes their life which takes approximately another 5 minutes