Oklahoma prison chief calls for execution review

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By SEAN MURPHY

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The head of Oklahoma's Department of Corrections told Gov. Mary Fallin on Thursday that he needs more oversight of execution procedures and said it took officials 51 minutes to find a suitable vein before the botched execution earlier this week.

Clayton Lockett died of an apparent heart attack 10 minutes after prisons director Robert Patton halted the execution. The prisons chief said Lockett had an intravenous tap placed at his groin because suitable veins couldn't be found elsewhere. That vein collapsed, and Patton said Lockett didn't have another vein that was suitable — and that the state didn't have another dose of the drugs available anyway.

The IV line was covered by a sheet because it had been placed at Lockett's groin, Patton said in his letter to the governor. Its becoming dislodged wasn't discovered until 21 minutes after the execution began and all of the execution drugs had been injected into the line.

"The drugs had either absorbed into tissue, leaked out or both," Patton wrote. "The director asked the following question, 'Have enough drugs been administered to cause death?' The doctor responded, 'No.'

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140501/oklahoma_execution-99bbf6c62b.html

[babylonsister]

1. Ya think? nt

[Mr.Bill]

2. As long as Fallin is the governor,

his career is over.

[napi21]

3. I still say this is the dumbest mess I've ever heard of.

Vets have ben euthanizing dogs & cats for YEARS! I don't know what drug they use, but there's NO PAIN, the dogs goes to sleep and the heart stops within 1-2 minutes. Should I have my vet call the Ok. Dr. who put together this 3 drug combo that apparently doesn't work?

[mahannah]

4. Capital punishment is both cruel and unusual.

[txwhitedove]

5. Aren't those "experts" in charge supposed to do a review BEFORE new execution procedures???