Europeans torture convict to death with pretentiousness, smug moralism

[CountDeMoney]

Oklahoma Governor Says Execution Probe Will Be 'Independent'

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said she has tapped her public-safety commissioner to lead a state review of the botched execution of Clayton Lockett and an independent pathologist to declare a cause of death.

Fallin took no questions after delivering a brief statement on Wednesday afternoon, which began with a recitation of Lockett's crimes — he shot one woman and repeatedly raped another — and a summary of his failed appeals.

"I believe the legal process worked. I believe the death penalty is an appropriate response and punishment to those who commit heinous crimes," Fallin said.

But, she added, the state needs to be "certain" its execution protocols are proper and so authorized what she called "an independent review."

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Thompson will be asked to report back on the cause of Lockett's death and whether the Department of Corrections followed its protocol, and make recommendations to improve the execution process.

Lockett's aunt, Deanna Parker, said the family wants their own pathologist involved and said the review should be conducted from someone outside of Fallin's administration,

"It needs to be an outside source," she said. "I don't trust anything Gov. Fallin has to say. They need to get this right. It does not need to come from her office."

Lockett's attorney, federal public defender Dean Sanderford, also called for more independence.

"The DPS is a state agency, and its Commissioner reports to the Governor. As such, the review proposed by Governor Fallin would not be conducted by a neutral, independent entity," Sanderford said in a statement.

"In order to understand exactly what went wrong in last night's horrific execution, and restore any confidence in the execution process, the death of Clayton Lockett must be investigated by a truly independent organization, not a state employee or agency."

During the review, the execution of Charles Warner, who was supposed to be killed two hours after Lockett, will be on hold.

Both men fought to have their executions put off until the state agreed to reveal the source of its new three-drug cocktail.

When the state Supreme Court issued a stay of execution, Fallin accused the justices of overstepping their bounds and the state attorney general said the ruling had created a constitutional crisis. The court then reversed the stay and green-lighted the executions.

Witnesses reported that three minutes after Lockett was declared unconscious, he had a violent reaction, lifted his head and body from the gurney several times, and mumbled.

Prison officials halted the execution and later said an intravenous line had blown. They also said Lockett then died of a massive heart attack.

The parents of Stephanie Neiman — the 19-year-old girl who was shot twice and buried alive by Locket — on Wednesday said they had no further words on the matter beyond what they said in a handwritten statement the day before, which read:

"God blessed us with our precious daughter, Stephanie for 19 years. Stephanie loved children. She worked in Vacation Bible School and always helped with our church nativity scenes. She was the joy of our life. We are thankful this day has finally arrived will finally be served."

Oklahoma Execution: What Went Wrong and What Happens Now?
By Tracy Connor

The execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma began against a backdrop of controversy, with death-row inmates across the country challenging states' last-minute changes to lethal injections and the secrecy that shrouds drug suppliers.

It ended as a nightmare for everyone involved, with the convicted murderer appearing to regain consciousness and struggling to sit up, prison officials halting the execution, and Lockett then dying of a massive heart attack.

The White House said Wednesday it was obvious the execution was not humane.

Here's a look at what happened at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on Tuesday night and some of the history behind it:

What went wrong?

It's not entirely clear. The prison director said an intravenous line blew after Lockett was given midazolam, a sedative, and while two other drugs — the paralytic vecuronium bromide and the heart-stopper potassium chloride — were flowing into his body.

Vein problems are not unheard of during executions, but Lockett's appeals team says his veins were perfectly healthy. They suspect there was something wrong with the drugs or the way they were administered.
Lockett's lawyers say the injection was "experimental." Is that true?

The three-drug combination had been used in Florida, but never in Oklahoma. And Oklahoma chose a different dosage of midazolam, a common sedative known by the brand name Versed, so it's accurate to say the exact formula used Tuesday night had not been tested.

Before the execution, Lockett's lawyers tried to force prison officials to reveal where they obtained the lethal dose, saying they should be allowed to investigate how they were prepared and whether they would be effective, but the state' Supreme Court ultimately ruled against them.

Why is Oklahoma using a new cocktail?

The state retooled its protocol after announcing it had not been able to find the drugs for its previous lethal injection combo: pentobarbital and vecuronium bromide.

That's a scenario that has repeated itself across the country as the supply of execution chemicals has dwindled.

Some pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell their products for capital punishment, forcing prisons to turn to less-regulated compounding pharmacies for specially mixed injections. In the wake of bad publicity and legal hassles, some pharmacies have gotten out of the business, too.

States are trying to keep the supply lines open by giving their drug connections anonymity, but defense lawyers contend the secrecy prevents them from investigating whether the injections would violate the constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
Is Lockett's execution the first one to go wrong?

At least two recent executions using new cocktails have drawn scrutiny because of complications.

When Michael Lee Wilson, 38, was put to death in January in Oklahoma for the murder of a store clerk, he reportedly blurted out, "My whole body is burning," after the pentobarbital was injected.

In Ohio, Dennis McGuire, 53, took 25 minutes to die and appeared to gasp for breath in January when given an untested cocktail that included midazolam. The state put another execution on hold while it reviewed what was seen by some as a botched procedure.

Earlier this week, Ohio declared that the execution was "humane" and that McGuire — convicted of raping and murdering a pregnant woman — felt no pain.

What happens now?

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin — who last week accused the state Supreme Court of overstepping its bounds by putting Lockett's execution on temporary hold — tapped her public safety commissioner to lead a review of his death.

His lawyers are calling for an independent autopsy and the names of the drug sources.

The man who was scheduled to die two hours after Lockett, Charles Warner, received at least a 14-day reprieve.

Nationally, death-row inmates continue to challenge changes to execution protocols and laws and policies that keep the suppliers a secret.

Lawmakers in some death-penalty states are also pushing to have other forms of execution — such as firing squad or electric chair — reinstated. Experts on both sides of the debate say it's unlikely that will come to pass on a broad scale because the public is unlikely to embrace non-medical executions.

Some death-penalty foes are predicting the high-profile Lockett disaster — in the wake of publicity about reversed convictions — could erode American support for the death penalty.
What does the U.S. Supreme Court have to say about it?

While several justices indicated they were in favor of a stay of execution in a couple of cases where inmates challenged the drug secrecy, the nation's high court has yet to block an execution because of that issue.

Three weeks ago, the justices declined to take up the case of Christopher Sepulvado, who was sentenced to death for killing his 6-year-old stepson and challenged Louisiana's secrecy rules.

[jimmy olsen]

Just use a guillotine. It's painless and quick.

[grumbler]

To be fair to the Euros, the reason US states were getting their drugs from Europe was that US pharmaceutical companies wouldn't provide them.  Fear of lawsuits.