John Grant was sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of prison worker Gay Carter. File Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Oct. 28 (UPI) — The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted a stay of execution for two men on Oklahoma’s death row hours before one of them was scheduled to be put to death.
The divided ruling means Oklahoma will carry out its first execution in six years Thursday.
John Grant is now set to be executed Thursday evening for the 1998 murder of prison worker Gay Carter, whom Grant killed while he was serving a prison sentence for four armed robberies.
Grant is part of a group of Oklahoma death row prisoners who sued the state over its lethal injection protocol. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Dale Baich, said former Attorney General Mike Hunter promised not to carry out executions on the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit while the case was pending in district court. The case is set to go to trial in February.
“Executions will go forward in Oklahoma despite significant questions regarding the constitutionality of the state’s execution protocol,” Baich said Thursday in response to the Supreme Court ruling. “The district court ordered a trial to determine whether the protocol creates an unconstitutional risk of excessive pain and suffering, yet the Supreme Court will allow Oklahoma to execute Mr. Grant with that protocol.”
The high court ruling also lifted a stay of execution for Julius Jones, another of the plaintiffs in the case who’s scheduled to be executed Nov. 18.
The state announced Feb. 13, 2020, that it planned to resume executions nearly six years after the use of an incorrect drug led to the botched execution of a convicted murderer.
Gov. Kevin Stitt said that after mulling the option of using nitrogen gas to carry out executions, the state has now found a “reliable supply of drugs” to resume lethal injections.
Oklahoma’s lethal injection protocol came under scrutiny in 2014 when Clayton Lockett died of a heart attack amid complications during his execution.
Autopsy reports released a year later indicated Oklahoma corrections officials used the wrong drug — potassium acetate instead of potassium chloride — during the process. Lockett complained of a burning sensation and attempted to raise his head and speak after doctors declared he was unconscious.
The same incorrect drug was delivered to corrections officials for use in the planned 2015 execution of Richard Glossip. Former Gov. Mary Ballin called off Glossip’s execution with a last-minute, indefinite stay after she learned of the discrepancy.
Oklahoma has carried out only one other execution since Lockett’s, that of Charles Warner in January 2015. He previously received a nine-month stay due to the botched lethal injection.
Since then, the state had an unofficial moratorium on executions as it attempted to secure a supply of lethal injection drugs. Oklahoma uses a three-drug cocktail of midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride.
Executions in the United States have undergone changes in recent years after states started running out of the essential lethal injection drug pentobarbital. The European Union in 2011 voted to prohibit the sale of the drug and seven other barbiturates to the United States for use in torture or executions. Other pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell drugs for lethal injection purposes outright, and some will only sell if their name is kept confidential.
Now states are being forced to use new drug cocktails, scramble to restock their stores of drugs and review their lethal injection policies.
In 2018, Oklahoma’s attorney general’s office announced it would use nitrogen gas inhalation as its primary method of execution. Officials, though, had difficulty finding a manufacturer to sell a method for administering the gas for an execution. Additionally, state law says nitrogen hypoxia may be used for executions only if drugs for lethal injections are unavailable.
John Grant was sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of prison worker Gay Carter. File Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Oct. 28 (UPI) — The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted a stay of execution for two men on Oklahoma’s death row hours before one of them was scheduled to be put to death. The divided ruling means Oklahoma will carry out its first execution in six years Thursday. John Grant is now set to be executed Thursday evening for the 1998 murder of prison worker Gay Carter, whom Grant killed while he was serving a prison sentence for four armed robberies. Grant is part of a group of Oklahoma death row prisoners who sued the state over its lethal injection protocol. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Dale Baich, said former Attorney General Mike Hunter promised not to carry out executions on the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit while the case was pending in district court. The case is set to go to trial in February. “Executions will go forward in Oklahoma despite significant questions regarding the constitutionality of the state’s execution protocol,” Baich said Thursday in response to the Supreme Court ruling. “The district court ordered a trial to determine whether the protocol creates an unconstitutional risk of excessive pain and suffering, yet the Supreme Court will allow Oklahoma to execute Mr. Grant with that protocol.” The high court ruling also lifted a stay of execution for Julius Jones, another of the plaintiffs in the case who’s scheduled to be executed Nov. 18. The state announced Feb. 13, 2020, that it planned to resume executions nearly six years after the use of an incorrect drug led to the botched execution of a convicted murderer. Gov. Kevin Stitt said that after mulling the option of using nitrogen gas to carry out executions, the state has now found a “reliable supply of drugs” to resume lethal injections. Oklahoma’s lethal injection protocol came under scrutiny in 2014 when Clayton Lockett died of a heart attack amid complications during his execution. Autopsy reports released a year later indicated Oklahoma corrections officials used the wrong drug — potassium acetate instead of potassium chloride — during the process. Lockett complained of a burning sensation and attempted to raise his head and speak after doctors declared he was unconscious. The same incorrect drug was delivered to corrections officials for use in the planned 2015 execution of Richard Glossip. Former Gov. Mary Ballin called off Glossip’s execution with a last-minute, indefinite stay after she learned of the discrepancy. Oklahoma has carried out only one other execution since Lockett’s, that of Charles Warner in January 2015. He previously received a nine-month stay due to the botched lethal injection. Since then, the state had an unofficial moratorium on executions as it attempted to secure a supply of lethal injection drugs. Oklahoma uses a three-drug cocktail of midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride. Executions in the United States have undergone changes in recent years after states started running out of the essential lethal injection drug pentobarbital. The European Union in 2011 voted to prohibit the sale of the drug and seven other barbiturates to the United States for use in torture or executions. Other pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell drugs for lethal injection purposes outright, and some will only sell if their name is kept confidential. Now states are being forced to use new drug cocktails, scramble to restock their stores of drugs and review their lethal injection policies. In 2018, Oklahoma’s attorney general’s office announced it would use nitrogen gas inhalation as its primary method of execution. Officials, though, had difficulty finding a manufacturer to sell a method for administering the gas for an execution. Additionally, state law says nitrogen hypoxia may be used for executions only if drugs for lethal injections are unavailable.