Today's Tulsa World publishes the editorial, "Records show state didn't know what was happening at Lockett execution."
The state finally has released a log of events from the botched April 29 execution of murderer Clayton Lockett.
Lockett’s autopsy results also were released last week.
Here’s the troubling revelation in both documents: In a situation where state officials should have had complete control over events, they didn’t know what was happening.
And:
Unfortunatly, too many questions about the Lockett execution remain unanswered.
"Details in the dark," is the Oklahoma City Journal Record editorial.
Most importantly, the report does not explain why Attorney General Scott Pruitt was in such a hurry to kill Lockett and Charles Warner, who was scheduled to die the same night but had his execution postponed after the Lockett debacle. On the day of the execution, with the untested drug combination still a contentious public topic, Pruitt issued a flurry of press releases reassuring Oklahomans that the drugs would work as intended and that proceeding swiftly would be justice served, true to the people’s wishes. And in the way of politicians, much credit was taken for being the state’s faithful guardian of justice.
We do not expect an autopsy report to explain those things, but we do expect the attorney general to find the courage to be as visible in his apology as he was in his assurances about the execution. We would admire a public figure who would stand and say, “I was wrong. This must not happen again.”
Unfortunately, the pro-death bluster stopped about the time the window shade was drawn in the execution chamber. And we’ve heard nothing at all from those responsible since.
"Review on Oklahoma's execution protocols due soon," is the AP report, via the Enid Daily News.
Oklahoma could release a report next week that details an investigation into the state’s execution protocols after the botched lethal injection of an inmate four months ago, a spokesman for Gov. Mary Fallin said Friday.
And:
Weintz’s statement Friday comes amid calls by some defense attorneys and civil rights groups to make the documents public for the sake of transparency.
“The autopsy report didn’t answer a critical question of what went wrong during Mr. Lockett’s execution, said assistant federal public defender Dale Baich, who represents death row prisoners.
Earlier coverage of Oklahoma's botched execution of Clayton Lockett begins at the link.
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