A death row inmate was shaken by vomiting and convulsions during his execution in the U.S. state ofOklahoma, where a lethal cocktail was used on which there was a suspicion that it could cause excruciating pain.
John Grant, a 60-year-old African American, was sentenced to death in 2000 for the murder of a prison employee. After receiving the green light from the United States Supreme Court, the prison authorities of the southern state injected him with the three substances and he was pronounced dead at 16:21 (23:21 in Italy).
This protocol had already been applied in 2014 and 2015, but the evident suffering of the detainees led the state to declare a moratorium on executions. John Grant “started shaking shortly after the first injection,” said AP reporter Sean Murphy, who witnessed the scene. He had about 20 seizures and vomited several times before passing out. “I’ve seen 14 executions, I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
His ordeal immediately sparked strong criticism. “L’Oklahoma he had blocked his last three execution attempts before his six-year hiatus, but apparently learned nothing from that experience, “commented Robert Dunham, who runs the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). A few days ago, the penitentiary servicesOklahoma however, they claimed in a press release that their protocol was “humane and effective” and that executions could resume.
Attorney for some detainees, Dale Baich, said there were still “serious questions” about the pain caused by the lethal cocktail and its compliance with the US Constitution, which bans “cruel and unusual punishment”. “A trial on this particular issue is expected to begin in February and executions are not expected to resume before then,” he said. On Wednesday an appeals court proved him right and suspended the execution. But the authorities ofOklahoma they immediately appealed to the US Supreme Court to overturn the decision. Without explaining his reasons, the High Court finally gave the green light to the execution at the last minute. The three progressive judges, however, made it clear that they disagreed with the conservative majority.
The contested protocol combines a sedative, midazolam, and an anesthetic, intended to prevent pain prior to the lethal dose of potassium chloride injection. It was used in 2014 to execute Clayton Lockett, but the convict died in apparent agony for 43 minutes. In 2015, another convict, Charles Warner, complained that his “body was burning” before he died, because the executioners had used the wrong product. The same mistake almost repeated itself in September 2015 and an execution was postponed to the last minute. Following these failures, a grand jury launched an investigation and the authorities agreed to suspend the application of the death penalty.
In 2020, a new protocol was finalized and several execution dates were set for 2021, starting with that of John Grant. L’Oklahoma he also plans to execute Julius Jones, a 41-year-old African American man who was sentenced to death in 2002 for the murder of a white businessman, which he has always denied. Her case has been the subject of a series of documentaries and a podcast, and is supported by numerous associations and personalities such as Kim Kardashian, who are convinced of her innocence. It has lost all its legal appeals, but the Board of Pardons of theOklahoma he recommended that his sentence be commuted to life imprisonment. The governor hasn’t made a decision yet.