Clayton Lockett execution: Oklahoma 'botched lethal injection', says private autopsy
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Version 0 of 1. Authorities in Oklahoma allegedly “botched” the execution of Clayton Lockett at a prison in April, according to the prisoner’s lawyer, David Autry. Prison officials used a vein in an inmate’s groin to inject lethal drugs after bypassing strong veins in his arms, according to the preliminary findings of an independent autopsy report commissioned by the prisoner’s lawyers released on Friday. Clayton Lockett reportedly died of a heart attack around 30 minutes after prison officials stopped his execution when they failed to properly administer the lethal injection. As Lockett began to squirm on a medical trolley in the execution chamber about 15 minutes into the procedure, officers drew a curtain across a viewing window to hide the scene from witnesses. The 38-year-old was sentenced to death after he was convicted of first-degree murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery for a 1999 crime spree with two co-defendants. He also shot teenager Stephanie Nieman and buried her alive in a shallow grave, where she eventually died. Skin punctures were left on Lockett's left and right arms, indicating that prison officials tried and failed to insert an IV in both arms, the autopsy showed. Officials then set an IV in Lockett’s groin area, which would typically be more painful, according to the independent report by forensic pathologist Joseph Cohen. Lockett's veins, both surface and deep, were in excellent shape “for the purpose of achieving venous access,” the report said. “Contrary to statements by the state, Mr. Lockett's veins did not collapse or 'blow out',” lawyers for Lockett said. Oklahoma officials did not comment on the report, and said they will have the results of their own independent autopsy in a few weeks. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said in a statement issued shortly after the execution that a full review of the state’s execution procedures would be carried out. The state also came under criticism for using a new, three-drug cocktail in the lethal injection, with lawyers saying the mix may have caused undue pain, in violation of US constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. The White House criticised the execution as beyond humane standards. No further executions have been held in the US since the incident, with courts granting stays for various reasons to those who were scheduled to be put to death in the weeks that followed. Oklahoma set up a new lethal injection procedure earlier this year, after it was no longer able to obtain the drugs it had once used for executions. Oklahoma and other states have been scrambling to find new suppliers and chemical combinations after drug makers, mostly in Europe, imposed sales bans because they objected to having medications originally made for other purposes being used in executions. Additional reporting by Reuters |