Oklahoma | Eyewitnesses to John Grant's execution give conflicting accounts

Strapped down to a gurney, the condemned inmate screamed profanities inside the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

The eyewitnesses to the state's first execution in more than six years agree on that point.

They also agree convicted murderer John Marion Grant threw up on the gurney Oct. 28.

Their descriptions of what else happened during the lethal injection procedure differ sharply.

Was it fast and smooth or horrifying?

Did the inmate convulse violently, dry heave or simply cough? Did he go unconscious quickly or appear to be still awake minutes into it? Did he stop breathing 45 seconds after getting the first drug or continue to breathe for several minutes?

Across the country, Grant's execution is widely seen as Oklahoma's latest death penalty failure because of the media reports.

That public perception persisted even after Corrections Department Director Scott Crow called the media accounts embellished and insisted the execution was without complication.

New eyewitness accounts have emerged in court as four other death row inmates seek stays of their upcoming executions. They say Grant's flawed execution proves Oklahoma's procedure is in violation of the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

At this point, no, we are not planning any new changes. -- Scott Crow, Corrections Department director

An Oklahoma City federal judge last week considered the conflicting accounts and refused to block the next scheduled execution. The judge will rule later on the other stay requests.

Bigler Jobe "Bud" Stouffer II is appealing the decision. His execution is set for Dec. 9.

The eyewitness accounts likely will come up again at a trial next year over the lethal injection procedure. Executions for around two dozen more death row inmates will be set if they lose that legal challenge in Oklahoma City federal court.

Here are highlights from five accounts:

The media witness

Sean Murphy, a reporter for The Associated Press, said Grant convulsed about two dozen times after the first drug, the sedative midazolam, started flowing through the IV tube.

"He began to convulse — pretty hard I would say — and then began vomiting about a minute later," Murphy told other reporters.

He also described the convulsions as full body and "pretty violent." He said Grant, 60, continued to breathe until one minute after the second drug began flowing.

"I've never seen an inmate vomit. I've witnessed about 14 executions and ... I've never witnessed that before."

The Corrections Department director

The director of the Corrections Department said at a news conference Oct. 29 that Grant began snoring lightly seconds after the first drug was administered.

"There's ... different opinions as to what occurred next," Crow said. "But at 4:10 p.m. inmate Grant, in my opinion, started dry heaving prior to actually regurgitating while on the table."

He estimated Grant dry heaved less than 10 times. "There's some that have indicated it was two dozen," he added. "From my vantage point. I didn't see that."

Scott Crow: Details of John Grant's execution were 'embellished'

He said it took 12 minutes to complete the process after the first drug was pushed.

"There were no instances of any unusual behavior throughout the drug protocol, other than the ... regurgitation," he said. "At no point ... were there ever any delays or any complications that prevented the protocol from being completed.

"At this point, no, we are not planning any new changes."

The state's expert

A longtime Oklahoma City anesthesiologist, Dr. Ervin Yen, observed the execution from a second witness room above and behind the media as a paid expert for the state.

He called the procedure fast and smooth.

He testified last week that Grant appeared to be unconscious 30 to 45 seconds after the first drug was administered and would not have felt pain after that.

The doctor said Grant also didn't take a breath again 45 seconds after getting the midazolam. He described seeing Grant's body at that point make what is called a "rocking boat" motion from being unable to take in air.

Grant then coughed 10 to 20 times and regurgitated, according to his testimony.

"I've seen seizures before. That's not what it looked like," said Yen, a former state senator now running for governor.

Yen said the inmate likely died from the sedative alone, before the second drug was pushed, when his blood oxygen level plummeted.

I hope to never witness another execution where Midazolam is being used. It was horrifying to watch. -- Julie Gardner, investigator for the Oklahoma City federal public defender

The public defender investigator

Julie Gardner was one of the two witnesses requested by Grant to be at the execution. She works as an investigator for the Oklahoma City federal public defender and has seen six other executions.

"Mr. Grant's execution was the first ... I witnessed where Midazolam was one of the drugs administered," she said in a court declaration. "I hope to never witness another execution where Midazolam is being used. It was horrifying to watch."

She described it as peaceful at first.

"Then it seemed like the drug hit and his chest expanded and he took a deep breath and let it out. The breaths that followed the first deep breath were more violent and irregular. His chest was heaving and it appeared like he was gasping for air. His head was moving. His mouth was moving as if he was trying to suck in air. Then he turned his head to the right and started vomiting and continued to vomit," she said.

"It appeared like he was drowning in his own vomit."

She said Grant turned his head toward his witnesses seven minutes into the execution and tried to raise a shoulder but it was strapped down.

"I did not think he was unconscious," she said of his movements. "However, someone announced over the intercom 'the inmate is unconscious.'"

The assistant public defender

Attorney Meghan LeFrancois was on Grant's legal team and also one of his requested witnesses.

"Throughout the first several minutes, Mr. Grant continued struggling to breathe and was gasping for air," the assistant federal public defender from Oklahoma City said in a court declaration.

"Based on his vomiting and gasping, I was worried he was going to choke on his vomit, or already was. I also remember one specific point when Mr. Grant’s back lifted dramatically up off the gurney."

She said his breathing did not settle down until more than six minutes after the process began.

Source: oklahoman.com, Nolan Clay, November 29, 2021

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