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.
She said the execution of Charles Warner, who was supposed to be killed two hours after Lockett, would be postponed until the review is completed.
Lockett and Warner fought to have their executions put on hold 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.
Charles Warner, left and Clayton Lockett, right.
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.
— Tracy Connor
First published April 30 2014, 12:10 PM
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1iJGaDP
0 comments:
Post a Comment