National attention turned to Oklahoma’s death penalty protocol last week after Clayton Lockett was slowly tortured to death during an execution gone awry. But the execution was the latest development in a long-running battle to continue putting people to death, even when the only way to do to is using unknown, untested drugs for lethal injections.
Emails recently obtained by the Colorado Independent reveal Oklahoma officials joking about their success in securing legal access to the controversial execution drugs. After Texas lawyers sought help from Oklahoma in arguing that they were justified in using new, untested drugs for executions, Oklahoma officials quipped in a 2011 email chain they would help them out exchange for coveted football tickets and a “commemorative plaque at halftime recognizing Oklahoma’s on-going contributions to propping up the Texas system of capital punishment.”
Among those involved in the emails was Stephen Krise, who is now General Counsel of the state’s Department of Public Safety. The head of that Department, Michael Thompson, was selected to lead an independent investigation into the botched execution of Lockett. While it is not clear whether Krise will be directly involved in the investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union points out that his affiliation calls into question the neutrality of the investigation.
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Emails recently obtained by the Colorado Independent reveal Oklahoma officials joking about their success in securing legal access to the controversial execution drugs. After Texas lawyers sought help from Oklahoma in arguing that they were justified in using new, untested drugs for executions, Oklahoma officials quipped in a 2011 email chain they would help them out exchange for coveted football tickets and a “commemorative plaque at halftime recognizing Oklahoma’s on-going contributions to propping up the Texas system of capital punishment.”
Among those involved in the emails was Stephen Krise, who is now General Counsel of the state’s Department of Public Safety. The head of that Department, Michael Thompson, was selected to lead an independent investigation into the botched execution of Lockett. While it is not clear whether Krise will be directly involved in the investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union points out that his affiliation calls into question the neutrality of the investigation.
continue to read here
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