Oklahoma | Parole board's latest clemency vote a call to re-examine execution process: Editorial

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has once again recommended clemency for a death-row inmate, but in this case it is not questioning the guilt of the inmate but rather the execution process itself.

On Nov. 17, the board voted 3-2 to recommend clemency to Bigler Jobe “Bud” Stouffer, who was convicted and sentenced to die for the 1985 murder of elementary school teacher Linda Reaves. His execution is planned for Dec. 9.

On the minds of board members is the process used by the state Department of Corrections to carry out executions.

“That process is obviously flawed,” board member Larry Morris said. “We have had individuals on the table suffering for 20 and 30 minutes apiece. And I don’t think that any humane society ought to be executing people that way until we figure out how to do it right.”

Fellow board member Scott Williams, who voted against clemency, nevertheless echoed those concerns.

Oklahoma’s lethal-injection protocol was changed after makers of the drugs previously used stopped selling the product to the state. This prompted the development of a new execution process.

The three executions carried out since then have had complications.

The state’s last execution, carried out on Oct. 28, saw condemned killer John Marion Grant vomit on himself, convulse and groan as the execution began. It took him about 20 minutes to die.

In 2015, inmate Charles Warner was heard saying, “My body is on fire,” as midazolam — the first of the three drugs now used in executions — was administered. Problems in that execution were blamed on the use of an incorrect mixture of the drugs.

And in 2014, inmate Clayton Lockett was seen writhing on the gurney and groaning during his execution. The process was stopped by prison officials, but Lockett died anyway, 43 minutes after the execution began. An investigation into the process found an incorrectly placed IV.

The Pardon and Parole Board vote comes on the heels of Julius Jones’ death-penalty commutation. The board recommended commutation and clemency based on doubt about his guilt.

More than 30 Oklahoma death-row inmates are suing the state, claiming that pain caused by midazolam is a violation of their constitutional rights. The Eighth Amendment forbids the use of “cruel and unusual punishments.”

The courts have ruled that states can use the death penalty as long as executions do not run afoul of the Constitution. Capital punishment is the law of the land in Oklahoma and historically has been supported by Oklahomans.

But as we’ve noted before, the lack of transparency regarding how capital punishment is carried out in Oklahoma is a problem. Such secrecy leaves us wondering about how much pain executions are inflicting, where execution drugs are coming from, and how well execution teams are prepared in carrying out the task.

All we know for certain is that eyewitness accounts from the past three executions do not indicate a smooth procedure. The Parole Board has noticed this, too, with members saying as much on the record.

The state needs to listen to the board and take a deeper look at the procedure to make sure it upholds constitutional protections.

Source: tulsaworld.com, Staff, November 27, 2021

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
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