The inmate who died of an apparent heart attack after a botched execution this week was Tasered the morning of his execution, and doctors inserted an IV to administer lethal drugs into his groin after being unable to locate a usable vein in his arms, legs or feet, authorities said Thursday.
Prisons chief Robert Patton also disclosed in a letter to Oklahoma’s governor that death-row inmate Clayton Lockett deliberately cut his right arm before sunrise Tuesday and refused to be restrained or to eat any food in the hours leading up to his death.
Patton recommended to Gov. Mary Fallin (R) that all executions in the state be put on hold indefinitely and called for an outside review of the state’s capital punishment procedures.
The recommendation comes as Oklahoma state officials attempt to identify what went wrong with the execution of Lockett, 38, who was convicted of raping, shooting and ordering the live burial of a 17-year-old girl. Lockett writhed and convulsed as a toxic drug cocktail was administered and then died after the execution was called off.
Fallin has ordered an internal review of the case to be conducted by the public safety commissioner. She also postponed the execution of another inmate, Charles Warner, who had been scheduled to die Tuesday evening after Lockett.
Warner’s attorney, Madeline Cohen, called Lockett’s death “torturous” and said no more executions should take place until a full investigation is conducted.
According to Patton’s outline of events:
An emergency response team went to Lockett’s cell early Tuesday to take him for mandatory X-rays. He refused to be restrained and was Tasered before being taken to a medical facility, where it was discovered that he had a self-inflicted cut to his right arm.
Source: Washington Post | Katie Zezima
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