It has been six years since Oklahoma put a person to death. On Thursday, the execution of convicted murderer John Grant did not go as smoothly as hoped.
Witnesses to the execution said shortly after the Midazolam was administered, Grant began convulsing several times and vomiting on himself. It was much like what happened during Oklahoma’s 2014 execution of Clayton Lockett.
After the second and third drug protocols were administered, Grant’s breathing slowed and eventually stopped. Department of Corrections officials declared Grant dead at 4:21 p.m.
A moratorium on executions was put into place in September 2015 when it was discovered the wrong protocol drugs were about to be administered to Richard Glossip. The Legislature and the Fallin Administration worked together with the Department of Corrections to examine what needed to be changed to make sure the lethal injection was administered humanely. It also studied other methods of execution with one legislator proposing the return of the gas chamber.
Oklahoma’s execution protocol continues to be challenged by Oklahoma’s death row inmates.
Grant was convicted of killing prison employee Gay Carter. A federal judge took Grant off a lawsuit which might have kept him from the execution chamber, at least temporarily. Grant’s attorneys filed an appeal with the 10th Circuit Court and was granted a stay on Wednesday. However, Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which dissolved the stay and allowed the execution to proceed Thursday afternoon.
The next in line is Julius Jones, who’s stay was also dissolved by the Supreme Court. His case has made international headlines as supporters claim his innocence in killing Paul Howell. Jones’ clemency hearing is scheduled for Monday, November 1. His execution is currently set for November 18.
You can watch what the media witnesses had to say about the execution via KWTV – News 9 below.
