Politico posts, "White House expresses dismay over botched Oklahoma execution," by Josh Gerstein. There is video at the link.
The White House is expressing dismay about the botched execution of a murder convict in Oklahoma Tuesday night, in which what a supposedly lethal cocktail of drugs initially failed to kill the prisoner.
“We have a fundamental standard in this country that even when the death penalty is justified, it must be carried out humanely. I think everyone would recognize that this case fell short of that standard,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told journalists Wednesday.
And:
Asked about the episode, Carney noted President Barack Obama’s support for the death penalty for certain “heinous” crimes and called the offenses Lockett was convicted of “indisputably horrific.” However, the spokesman said the problems with the Oklahoma execution were nevertheless troubling.
"White House: Oklahoma Execution Fell Short of Humane Standards," is by Dustin Volz at National Journal.
"We have a fundamental standard in this country that even when the death penalty is justified, it must be carried out humanely," press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday. "And I think everyone would recognize that this case fell short of that standard."
Carney said he has not specifically discussed with President Obama the execution, which went awry after the inmate was injected with a new and untested lethal cocktail. Carney also said he was unsure whether the Justice Department was planning to launch a federal inquiry into the matter.
"What I can tell you is that [Obama] has long said that while the evidence suggests that the death penalty does little to deter crime, he believes there are some crimes that are so heinous that the death penalty is merited," Carney said.
The Guardian posts, "Botched Oklahoma execution 'fell short of humane standards' – White House." It's by Ed Pilkington, Jon Swaine, and Katie Fretland.
In Washington, Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said that while President Barack Obama believed the evidence showed that capital punishment was not an effective deterrent to crime, some acts were so heinous as to merit the death penalty.
But Carney said that a “fundamental standard” in the US was that executions should be carried out humanely. “I think everyone would recognise that this case fell short of that standard,” he said.
MSNBC posts, "White House weighs in on botched Oklahoma execution," by Michele Richinick.
President Obama’s top spokesman on Wednesday said the botched execution in Oklahoma “fell short” of humane standards. It was the latest volley in a deluge of criticism for the state’s execution procedure and its Republican governor, Mary Fallin, who promised a thorough investigation while defending the state’s handling of the matter.
Earlier coverage of Oklahoma's botched execution begins with the preceding post.
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