It took seven minutes before the two condemned men, who had been strapped to wooden crosses, bled out on the jungle floor.
In the dead of night in 2008, in a remote clearing on the Indonesian island of Nusa Kambangan, Nigerian nationals Samuel Iwuchukwu Okoye and Hansen Antonious Nwaolisa were executed by firing squad after being sentenced to death for smuggling more than 3kg of heroin each.
A similar fate awaits two Australian men - Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan - who are on death row in Bali since their convictions in 2006 over a plot to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin to Australia.
An account given in 2008 by Irish Catholic priest Charlie Burrows, who was present at the executions of Okoye and Nwaolisa, says their deaths were neither quick nor painless; that they were being tortured, "moaning again and again for seven minutes" as they slowly died.
"I think it is cruel, the torture," he said at the time in testimony before Indonesia's Constitutional Court.
Okoye and Nwaolisa had been strapped to crucifixes with inner-tubes. Black hoods were placed over their heads.
"It was simple: one, two, three, then 'bang'," Father Burrows said.
"The blood came out slowly; they were in pain. After 10 minutes, a doctor came to inspect them and pronounced them dead."
If executed like Okoye and Nwaolisa, the two Australians will have their hands and feet shackled before being taken from their cells before midnight and driven to a remote execution site.
They will be given a stark choice: die standing, sitting or kneeling.
If necessary, they will be tied to a pole, and will have the choice of whether to be blindfolded.
Twelve executioners armed with rifles - only three of which will have live rounds - will be told to aim at targets over their hearts.
"Executions are not clean killings," their Australian lawyer, Julian McMahon, told AAP on Friday.
"What, in fact, happens is that the prisoner is taken out into the bush. It's usually at night. If necessary, they are tied to a plank."
"If the prisoner isn't dead straight away, the commanding officer is meant to walk up and then put a bullet in the head."
Sukumaran has already been told his presidential pardon bid has been rejected, while Chan awaits final word. Authorities have said the prisoners will be executed together.
Mr McMahon says execution would be a great injustice, and belie not only the efforts Sukumaran and Chan have made in improving their lives but also the success of the Indonesian justice system.
"The injustice of this is heartbreaking," he said.
"Myuran and Andrew are not just reformed prisoners leading good lives. They have indisputably changed and improved the lives of many prisoners."
"The system has reformed these two men. They are such a credit to the governors and themselves. It's incredible they might now be shot."
The Indonesian government has announced it will begin executing death row inmates from Sunday. Sukurmaran and Chan will not be among them, this time.
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