Scrutiny Case Study

Under Scrutiny: Oklahoma's Lethal-Injection Protocol

"My body is on fire" exclaimed Oklahoma inmate Charles Warner, 47, at his January execution of this year as the wrong drug cocktail was used to execute him, according to an autopsy report released yesterday (10/8/15) by the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Oklahoma falls again in the national spotlight following the international attention of bungling executions, the administration of the three-drug series in Warner's execution included the controversial sedative, midazolam, since approved by a divided 5-4 United States Supreme Court in June, and the delivery of a paralytic and the remaining drug supposed to be potassium chloride to stop the heart.

Instead of the

"The State's disclosure that it used potassium acetate instead of potassium chloride during the execution of Charles Warner yet again raises serious questions about the ability of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to carry out executions," Baich commented. "The execution logs for Charles Warner say that he was administered potassium chloride, but now the State says potassium acetate was used. We will explore this in detail through the discovery process in the federal litigation."

Slight variance is permissible in the state's execution protocol involving the use of drugs in executions:.

"The protocols include dosage guidelines for single-drug lethal injections of pentobarbital or sodium pentothal, along with dosages for a 3-drug protocol of midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride," the AP reported. "The protocols also allow for rocuronium or pancuronium bromide to be substituted for the 2nd drug. The protocols do not list an alternate for potassium chloride, which is the 3rd drug