Grant’s execution was the first in the US state after a break of more than six years, which followed the failed executions in 2014 and 2015, Reuters recalled.
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In Oklahoma, he is executed with a mixture of three substances injected by convicts. This deadly cocktail is suspected of causing too much suffering, the AFP agency reported.
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Grant, 60, was sentenced to death in 2000 for the murder of a prison employee. After the execution was given the green light by the Supreme Court, prison authorities in the conservative southern state injected three substances into a prisoner who was pronounced dead at 16:21 local time (23:21 CEST).
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“He started writhing shortly after injecting the first substance,” said AP reporter Sean Murphy, who was watching the execution. According to him, the convict jerked about twenty times and vomited several times before he died. “I’ve witnessed 14 executions, but I’ve never seen anything like it,” Murphy said.
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They didn’t learn
The convict’s suffering immediately provoked criticism. “Oklahoma failed its last three attempts at executions before the six-year hiatus, but has learned no lessons from the experience,” Robert Dunhan, who heads the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), told AFP.
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A few days ago, Oklahoma prison authorities assured in a communiqué that their executions were “humane and effective” and that executions could continue. However, several convicts’ lawyer, Dale Baich, warned that there were serious doubts about the suffering caused by the lethal injection cocktail and whether it was in accordance with the US Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. He argued that the trial on this issue should begin in February and until then the state should not execute again.
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The Court of Appeal ruled in his favor on Wednesday and canceled the execution. But Oklahoma authorities immediately turned to the United States Supreme Court to reverse the decision. And the Supreme Authority, without explaining the reasons, gave the green light to the execution. However, the three judges made it clear that they did not agree with a conservative five-member majority.
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“My body is burning”
The execution method in Oklahoma prisons has been under fire since April 2014, when convict Clayton Lockett suffered from convulsions, clenched his teeth and even tried to lift his head off the couch while executing a death sentence injected with a mixture of substances including midazolam as a sedative. He died of a heart attack after about 40 minutes of apparent suffering. In January 2015, another convict, Charles Warner, complained that his body was “burning” before he died. It turned out that the prison had received the wrong deadly substance. This mistake was almost repeated in September 2015, before the execution was postponed at the last minute.
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According to the convicts’ lawyers, midazolam is not suitable as an anesthetic because it does not cause the necessary level of unconsciousness during operations and therefore cannot be used in executions. Even during Grant’s execution, midazolam was the first substance injected.
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However, Oklahoma authorities completed a new execution method last year and scheduled several executions of convicts this year, starting with John Grant. In 1998, he killed a woman working in a prison dining room with a screwdriver, where he was serving a sentence for armed robbery.
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Another execution in mid-November
“At least now we are beginning to bring justice to our loved ones,” commented Grant’s execution on the daughter of a murdered woman who, according to the media, also works in a prison canteen. “The death penalty is about protecting all potential future victims. Even after Grant was removed from society, he committed a violent crime behind bars that claimed an innocent life. I pray that justice will prevail for all victims, “added Pamela Gay Carter, according to the AP agency.
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Next up is Novius Julius Jones, a 41-year-old African-American who was sentenced in 2002 to the highest sentence for the murder of a white businessman. He still denies guilt. Jones enjoys the support of a number of associations and celebrities convinced of his innocence, including Kim Kardashian. He did not succeed in his appeals, but the governor of the state has not yet decided on a request to commute the death penalty to life imprisonment, as recommended by his pardon advisers.
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