The Sunday Tulsa World posted, "Shortage of execution drugs could lead to changes in Oklahoma," by Cary Aspinwall.
Oklahoma plans to execute two convicted murderers in April, but state officials won't say how they will obtain scarce lethal injection drugs or if they've already found a new source.
The availability of drugs used for lethal injections is a problem affecting state prison systems throughout the U.S. — though Florida executed a man Thursday, and Texas put an inmate to death Wednesday, shortly after announcing it found a new supplier.
Oklahoma revealed last week in court records that its suppliers "fell through," and the state was unable to obtain lethal injection drugs for two executions set to take place this month.
There is additional news from Oklahoma this morning. "Supreme Court rejects Okla. appeal to reinstate death sentence in 20-year-old double murder," is the AP report, via the Greenfield Reporter.
The Supreme Court has refused Oklahoma's plea to reinstate the death sentence for a man convicted of killing two people in 1994.
The justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place a federal appeals court order granting a new sentencing hearing for Rocky Eugene Dodd. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out Dodd's death sentence because seven relatives of Dodd's victims were allowed to call for the death penalty in their testimony during the sentencing phase of Dodd's trial.
Earlier coverage of Oklahoma lethal injection issues begins at the link.
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