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Oklahoma executions upheld amid drugs 'secrecy' row Inmates in Oklahoma 'secrecy' row to be executed
(about 5 hours later)
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled two death row inmates have no right to learn the source of the drugs to be used to kill them, clearing the way for their execution. Two death row inmates who lost a case in the Oklahoma Supreme Court will be put to death in a rare same-day double execution, the governor has said.
Clayton Lockett, 38, and Charles Warner could be executed on 29 April. Clayton Lockett, 38, and Charles Warner will be executed on 29 April, Governor Mary Fallin has said.
Lawyers for the two argued they needed assurance the executions would not be botched with impure or expired drugs. The court on Wednesday ruled they had no right to know the source of the drugs that will be used to kill them.
Last month, a judge ruled a law guarding the secrecy of the drugs' source was unconstitutional. They argued knowing the source would keep the executions from being botched with impure or expired drugs.
But on Wednesday, the state's highest court reversed that ruling. Oklahoma last executed two men on the same day on 11 June 1937. Three people were put to death on 13 April 1917.
"The plaintiffs have no more right to the information they requested than if they were being executed in the electric chair," Justice Steven Taylor wrote. "The defendants had their day in court," Ms Fallin wrote on Thursday of Lockett and Warner.
"If they were being hanged, they would have no right to know whether it be cotton or nylon rope; or if they were being executed by firing squad, they would have no right to know whether it be by Winchester or Remington ammunition," he added. "Two men that do not contest their guilt in heinous murders will now face justice, and the families and friends of their victims will now have closure."
Gasped and choked The two men had 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, paralyse their respiratory systems, and stop their hearts.
The court rulings come as US states are having increasing trouble obtaining drugs used in executions, amid an embargo from European pharmaceutical firms. The state maintains the law is necessary to protect the suppliers from legal action and harassment.
Critics say the states that are experimenting with other drugs risk botching executions and causing unnecessary suffering. Lockett and 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 they were obtained legally.
In January, for example, an execution in Ohio took 25 minutes to complete, as the inmate reportedly gasped and made choking noises in the moments before he was pronounced dead. Execution already delayed
The state used two untried drugs to kill convicted murderer and rapist Dennis McGuire after the maker of the previous execution drug refused to allow its use. In March, a trial court ruled in their favour, but on Wednesday the state's highest court reversed that decision, ruling "the plaintiffs have no more right to the information they requested than if they were being executed in the electric chair".
Oklahoma state law blocks officials from revealing - even during court proceedings - the identities of the companies supplying the drugs used to sedate the inmates, paralyse their respiratory systems, and stop their hearts. "If they were being hanged, they would have no right to know whether it be cotton or nylon rope; or if they were being executed by firing squad, they would have no right to know whether it be by Winchester or Remington ammunition," Justice Steven Taylor wrote.
The challenge to Oklahoma's law was brought by Lockett, who was sentenced to death for the 1999 shooting of a 19-year-old woman, and Warner, who was convicted for the 1997 murder and rape of an 11-month-old girl. In recent years US states have had increasing trouble obtaining drugs used in executions, amid an embargo from European pharmaceutical firms.
Some have turned to untried combinations of drugs or have sought to obtain the drugs custom-made from compounding pharmacies.
Lockett was sentenced to death for the 1999 shooting of a 19-year-old woman. Warner was convicted for the 1997 murder and rape of an 11-month-old girl.
The court proceedings have already delayed their executions. Lockett was originally scheduled to die on 20 March, and Warner on 27 March.
The state said on 1 April that the men would be executed using midazolam, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride - a combination never before used in Oklahoma, according to the Associated Press.The state said on 1 April that the men would be executed using midazolam, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride - a combination never before used in Oklahoma, according to the Associated Press.