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The disturbing death of an Oklahoma inmate has put an indefinite stay on executions at the prison and throughout the state, bringing relief to 51 death row inmates.
According to the International Business Times, Clayton Lockett (right) and Charles Warner (left) were scheduled to receive the death penalty by lethal injection last week.
On Tuesday, when the prison used a special three-drug cocktail for Lockett, his vein exploded and the inmate went through excruciating pain for 40 minutes as prosecutors and officials watched Lockett die of a heart attack. It was the first time that the state had used the special lethal cocktail.
Robert Patton, Director of Oklahoma Department of Corrections requested the delays of lethal injections until the officials figure out what went wrong in the procedure. A normal procedure allows the inmate to reach a level of sedation before the final injection so they feel no pain. 51 inmates are currently on death row at the prison.
Lockett was sentenced to death in 1999 after the murder of 19-year-old Stephanie Neiman during a home burglary. The teen was buried alive.
Warner is scheduled to be executed on May 14, but the delay has bought him more time to live. He was given the death penalty after raping and killing an 11-month-old baby girl in 1997.
Source: au.ibtimes.com
