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Oklahoma corrections officials have unveiled the state’s remodeled death chamber, where at least three men are scheduled to be executed before the end of the year.
The chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester was renovated at a cost of $71,000.
The new facility features more space for the executioners to work and new audio and video equipment.
It was rebuilt after an April execution went awry when executioners failed to inject the lethal drugs properly.
Convicted murderer Clayton Lockett writhed for nearly an hour as the execution team struggled to find suitable veins in his arms, legs, neck and feet.
Oklahoma corrections officials have unveiled the state’s remodeled death chamber (photo AP)
They ultimately attempted to inject the drugs into a vein in his groin but that failed, dispersing the powerful sedative into his tissue rather than directing it into his bloodstream.
The execution was halted when the error was discovered. Lockett died shortly after of a heart attack.
On October 9, Oklahoma corrections officials took news media on a tour of the new facility, showing the enlarged “chemical room” where the executioners administer the lethal drugs.
By expanding the “chemical room”, the state reduced the size of the witness chamber and the room where the condemned is strapped down. In future, five members of the news media will be allowed to witness executions, down from 12.
The chamber has cameras, video screens and a heartbeat monitor enabling the executioners to track the procedure’s progress. An ultrasound machine will enable the team to more easily locate the condemned’s veins.
Charles Fredrick Warner, who had initially been scheduled to die just hours after Clayton Lockett on April 20, will be next in the chamber, his execution scheduled for November 13.
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The US Supreme Court has delayed the execution of Missouri convicted murderer Russell Bucklew amid concerns a medical condition could complicate the lethal injection and cause undue suffering.
Russell Bucklew, 46, was scheduled to die at 00:01 local time on Wednesday.
His lawyers say a congenital deformity in his throat would put him at risk of choking during a lethal injection.
The execution would be the first since a botched lethal injection last month.
Oklahoma prisoner Clayton Lockett died of a heart attack in April after the executioners reported trouble finding a vein in which to inject the lethal drugs and officials halted the execution. He reportedly writhed and moaned as the first drug of three lethal drugs, a sedative, apparently failed to take effect as intended.
Russell Bucklew’s execution would be the first since Oklahoma botched lethal injection last month
Russell Bucklew’s reprieve, however temporary, came after a day of legal wrangling that first saw a three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, a regional federal court, grant him a stay of execution, only to have that stay overturned hours later by the full court.
Then, with just two hours to go until the scheduled execution, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency appeals for the 8th Circuit region, issued his own stay.
Russell Bucklew could be put to death later on Wednesday if the Supreme Court considers his case and opts not to intervene.
He suffers from a condition called cavernous hemangioma, which causes malformation of the blood vessels and tumors in the throat and nose.
In an affidavit for his defense team, an anaesthesiologist and surgeon wrote last week that during an execution Russell Bucklew would be “at great risk of choking and suffocating because of his partially obstructed airway”.
In 1996, Russell Bucklew murdered a man he believed was romantically involved with his ex-girlfriend, then raped the woman during his escape from the scene of the murder. He was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary, forcible rape, and armed criminal action.
The US has had increasing trouble in recent years finding drugs to use in executions, amid an embargo from the EU, where pharmaceutical manufacturers have refused to ship drugs to buyers in the US for use in lethal injection.
The shortage has led the states in some cases to turn to lesser-regulated compounding pharmacies.
Missouri executes inmates with a single, lethal dose of the drug pentobarbital.
Like other states, Missouri keeps the source of the drug secret, in an effort to shield the provider from scrutiny and unfavorable publicity. News organizations and inmates have sued the states in an effort to force them to disclose the companies names. Their efforts have been rejected by the courts.
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Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has ordered a “full review” of the state’s procedures following Clayton Lockett’s botched execution.
Clayton Lockett’s execution was stopped after 20 minutes on Tuesday evening
Officials say one of his veins ruptured, preventing the drugs from taking full effect. He died of a heart attack less than an hour later.
The execution of a fellow inmate, scheduled to die hours after Clayton Lockett, has been postponed amid the review.
Clayton Lockett was sentenced to death for shooting 19-year-old Stephanie Neiman and watching as two accomplices buried her alive in 1999.
Stephanie Neiman and a friend had interrupted the men as they robbed a home.
Clayton Lockett’s lawyer, David Autry, said the failed execution was a “horrible thing to witness”.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has ordered a “full review” of the state’s procedures following Clayton Lockett’s botched execution
“Obviously the whole thing was gummed up and botched from beginning to end,” David Autry said.
“Halting the execution obviously did Lockett no good.”
The problems surrounding Clayton Lockett’s execution come amid a wider debate over the legality of the three-drug method and whether its use violates guarantees in the US constitution “against cruel and unusual punishment”.
Both men scheduled to die on Tuesday had unsuccessfully challenged a state law that shields the identities of companies supplying the drugs.
The execution began at 18:23 local time, when officials administered a sedative.
Clayton Lockett was declared unconscious 10 minutes later, allowing officials to begin injecting the two drugs that would kill him.
But three minutes later, he began breathing heavily and writhing.
Prison officials pulled a curtain across the view of witnesses when it became apparent that something had gone wrong.
Oklahoma’s top prison official ordered a halt to the execution shortly after.
“We believe that a vein was blown and the drugs weren’t working as they were designed to.” Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie said.
But David Autry questioned the remarks, insisting his client “had large arms and very prominent veins,” according to the Associated Press.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said in a statement that she had issued a 14-day stay of execution for fellow inmate Charles Warner, 46, while the state completed a review of its execution procedures.
Charles Warner had been scheduled to be put to death in the same room two hours later in a rare double execution.
He was convicted of the 1997 murder and rape of an 11-month-old girl.
Charles Warner’s lawyer, Madeline Cohen, who witnessed Clayton Lockett’s execution, said he had been “tortured to death” and called for an independent investigation, including an outside medical examination.
The US has encountered increasing problems in obtaining the drugs for lethal injections, amid an embargo by European pharmaceutical firms.
Some states have turned to untried combinations of drugs or have sought to obtain the drugs custom-made from compounding pharmacies. Several states that still have the death penalty have since switched to a single-drug method.
Charles Warner and Clayton Lockett had unsuccessfully challenged an Oklahoma state law that blocks officials from revealing – even in court – the identities of the companies supplying the drugs.
The state maintains the law is necessary to protect the suppliers from legal action and harassment.
Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner argued they needed to know the names of the suppliers in order to ensure the quality of the drugs that would be used to kill them and to be certain that they had been obtained legally.
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Oklahoma death row inmate Clayton Lockett died of a heart attack after his execution was halted because the lethal injection of three drugs failed to work properly.
Clayton Lockett, 38, experienced a vein failure which prevented the drug cocktail from being fully effective.
The execution was halted after 20 minutes, during which he writhed and shook uncontrollably, US media report.
The execution of fellow inmate Charles Warner, due to take place just two hours later, was postponed for 14 days.
A spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections told US media that Clayton Lockett had died of a heart attack following injection of three lethal drugs.
“We believe that a vein was blown and the drugs weren’t working as they were designed to. The director ordered a halt to the execution,” corrections department spokesman Jerry Massie said.
Prison officials pulled a curtain across the view of witnesses when it became apparent that something had gone wrong.
Clayton Lockett died of a heart attack after his execution was halted because the lethal injection of three drugs failed to work properly
“He was conscious and blinking, licking his lips even after the process began. He then began to seize,” Associated Press news agency reporter Bailey Elise McBride tweeted from the scene.
“This was botched, and it was difficult to watch,” said David Autry, one of Clayton Lockett’s lawyers.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said in a statement that she had ordered a full review of the state’s execution procedures.
Charles Warner, 46, had been scheduled to be put to death in the same room two hours later in a rare double execution.
Clayton Lockett was sentenced to death for the 1999 shooting of a 19-year-old woman. Charles Warner was convicted for the 1997 murder and rape of an 11-month-old girl.
The two men had unsuccessfully challenged an Oklahoma state law that blocks officials from revealing – even in court – the identities of the companies supplying the drugs used to sedate inmates, paralyze their respiratory systems and stop their hearts.
The state maintains the law is necessary to protect the suppliers from legal action and harassment.
Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner argued it was necessary for the men to learn the name of the suppliers in order to ensure the quality of the drugs that would be used to kill them and to be certain that they had been obtained legally.
In March a trial court ruled in their favor, but the state’s highest court reversed that decision last week, ruling that “the plaintiffs have no more right to the information they requested than if they were being executed in the electric chair”.
In recent years US states have had increasing problems in trying to obtain drugs used in executions, amid an embargo by European pharmaceutical companies.
Some have turned to untried combinations of drugs or have sought to obtain the drugs custom-made from compounding pharmacies.
Clayton Lockett’s last moments:
- 18:23 – Sedative administered
- 18:33 – Doctor declares Clayton Lockett unconscious
- 18:36 – Clayton Lockett is restless and a doctor discovers a ruptured vein
- Curtain drawn
- Execution halted
- 19:06 – Clayton Lockett dies from a heart attack
All times local – Central Time
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