District Court Judge: Oklahoma Execution Law Declared Unconstitutional

[OKCTalker]

Oklahoma judge tosses state execution law | News OK The lead from the Associated Press story as reported by NewsOK.com:

An Oklahoma judge has ruled that the state's execution law is unconstitutional because it doesn't allow inmates access to the court system.

Under Oklahoma law, no one may disclose the source of drugs used in executions — even if an inmate sues and wants the information as part of the discovery process. Oklahoma County District Judge Patricia Parrish said Monday that provision violates due process rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

The story does not say if this means that all executions are on hold, or just for Lockett & Warner, scheduled to be executed on April 22 & 29 respectively.

[kevinpate]

FWIW, there presently are no active execution dates for any OK inmates except for the recently rescheduled to April dates on Lockett and Warner.
Those dates are currently set as Lockett, April 22 and Warner, April 29.

In OK, and most if not all other death penalty jurisdictions, an execution date is set at the time of the original sentencing. However, that date is then stayed while a death row inmate's appeals are underway.
When the appellate process has been concluded in OK, the AG's office notifies the Court of Criminal Appeals, which then sets a new execution date for an inmate.

These days the time is usually set in early evening. In days gone by, it was common to set the time for midnight or 12:01 am on the date the execution was scheduled to be carried out.

[MWCGuy]

In days gone by, it was common to set the time for midnight or 12:01 am on the date the execution was scheduled to be carried out.

I have always wondered if they had more do with the use of the Electric Chair. The high voltage had to cause a pretty good power surge back in the day. Fewer people would notice the surge at night because they were likely asleep long before midnight.

[mkjeeves]

I have always wondered if they had more do with the use of the Electric Chair. The high voltage had to cause a pretty good power surge back in the day. Fewer people would notice the surge at night because they were likely asleep long before midnight.

I don't know about Oklahoma, but I do know Arkansas used their own generator at one time. (60's) The story being the utility refused to serve power for that purpose. It doesn't take much power to kill someone, even though they probably overdo it.

[OKCTalker]

Have previous methods of execution - electric chair, firing squad, gallows - been eliminated, or do they remain possibilities?

[trousers]

Per the always reliable Wikipedia...
Method[edit]Since executions resumed in 1990 Lethal injection has been the standard method for execution. However if lethal injection is ever outlawed the state has two optional methods outlined in its state constitution. The first being Electrocution by electric chair which was used before the national moratorium began in 1967, with shooting by firing squad as the second option should both lethal injection and electrocution be outlawed.[13]

I wonder if you still get that last cigarette with the firing squad option or does that violate state rules for smoking in a state facility?

[kevinpate]

The AG has provided information on the drugs that are planned to be used in the executions set later this month.
Attorney General reveals drugs to be used - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

[kevinpate]

The two executions set this month have been stayed ... by the state supreme court, quite unusual all in all.

The 5-4 ruling came after the state Supreme Court had twice told the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals it had the jurisdiction to delay the executions. Both times, the criminal appeals court denied it had that authority. In total, the request for a stay bounced between four different state and federal courts.
“Here, the Court of Criminal Appeals’ refused to exercise its rightfully placed jurisdiction, and left this Court in an awkward position,” the justices wrote in their decision. “We can deny jurisdiction, or we can leave the appellants with no access to the courts for resolution of their “grave” constitutional claims. As uncomfortable as this matter makes us, we refuse to violate our oaths of office and to leave the appellants with no access to the courts, their constitutionally guaranteed measure.”

Source:
Oklahoma Supreme Court stays executions of two inmates | News OK

[CuatrodeMayo]

From what I understand, this just became a really big deal.

[Jeepnokc]

Most people don't realize our appellate system in OK. All criminal cases are appealed to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. There is no appeal to the OK Supreme Court on criminal cases. The Court of Criminal Appeals is basically the Criminal Supreme Court in OK or Court of last resort in OK for lack of better definition. On the civil side, you do not appeal to the Court of Civil Appeals but to the Oklahoma Supreme Court directly and they either keep jurisdiction or send down to the Court of Civil Appeals. If you don't like the decision from the Court of Civil Appeals, then you can file a Petition for the Supreme Court to review it.

I have not followed this that closely but from what I am gathering, the Supreme Court basically said they didn't have jurisdiction and that the Ct Of Criminal Appeals had to review it but they said they didn't have jurisdiction and kicked it back to the Supremes. I have not read the opinion but my take from the paper was that the Supremes issued the stay because they wanted to make sure that the defendants had their constitutional right to access to the courts provided to them and it wasn't being done when the two appellate courts in OK were both saying that it wasn't them.

That is a very brief run down off the top of my head. Some of the other legal beagles on here like Kevin or Midtowner may be able to give more detail if they have read the opinion. We have an interesting situation with two different appellate branches. We sometimes will get conflicting opinions from the different courts interpreting the same statutes. For example, in DUI cases, the Crims will interpret the meaning of public parking lot for purpose of whether you can get a DUI there in criminal cases. However, with DUIs. you also have the drivers license case which is a civil case and we have case law from the Civil appellate courts that provided a different interpretation of what public parking lot meant for DUIs when dealing with taking the license for DUI.

[kevinpate]

If memory serves, only OK and TX currently utilize a separate criminal appellate court of last resort. A while back there was a third state that did as well. Possibly it was LA, but I do not recall right off.

I haven't seen any of the briefs or the orders here. From the press, it appears the current litigation over the drugs and protocols is presently on appeal to the state supreme court. The state court kicked the question about a stay of execution to the criminal appellate court, apparently twice. Court of Criminal Appeals decided each time it lacks authority to act on a stay, notwithstanding the state supreme court advising it does have the authority. So, the state supreme court decided they do not like it much, but they stepped in and issued a stay on a 5-4 decision. The stay is in place until the litigation pending with the supreme court is resolved.

The AG is unhappy. Neither appellate court seems particularly happy. The DR inmates and their attorneys are undoubtedly more happy.

And, somewhere, over on the 4th and 5th floor of the capitol, it is possible certain folk who desperately want to meddle in the independence of the judiciary may be licking their chops and hoping to feast on the matter.

[kevinpate]

And now NewsOK reports that in a unanimous decision today the state supreme court decided to dissolve the stay it put into place earlier this week.
The article is a stub really. Not much detail at all. Perhaps more will come by morning.

source: Supreme Court rules executions can proceed | News OK

on edit: I have not seen the order and am uncertain from the docket whether the court dissolved their own stay, or dissolved the one week only stay purported granted by the gov. to Lockett only.

So yeah, hopefully more to follow.

on edit part deux: Since the docket is listing an opinion and not simply an order, I think they have dissolved their own stay, which had covered both inmates.

[Dubya61]

I understand that there should be no part of government void of checks or balances, but I hope these judges didn't decide to / weren't persuaded to dissolve their own stay to avoid becoming political fodder for some.

[kevinpate]

No. There is a more complete article on NewsOk now. Just been too busy to review til now.

The Supreme court decided the underlying claims, and the decision was not favorable to the claims raised by the two inmates.

The court reversed the district court decision regarding the constitutionality of the challenged statute. The case being resolved, the reason for granting the stays of execution, which were granted pending a resolution of the case, was no longer in play.

So the court dissolved the stays. Both inmates are now set to be executed on next Tuesday.

source: Oklahoma Supreme Court lets executions go forward | News OK

[Of Sound Mind]

I understand that there should be no part of government void of checks or balances, but I hope these judges didn't decide to / weren't persuaded to dissolve their own stay to avoid becoming political fodder for some.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court doesn't care, especially when it comes to the legislature.

[TheTravellers]

The Oklahoma Supreme Court doesn't care, especially when it comes to the legislature.

Actually, I think they do, they've smacked down the OK legislature many times.

[Of Sound Mind]

That was my point. They aren't scared of the legislature or their politics.

[TheTravellers]

That was my point. They aren't scared of the legislature or their politics.

Ah, right, I read it as "they don't care about doing their job", sorry, carry on... And they got their own reprieve with the killing of SJR21, just recently, which is nice to see the OK legislature doing something right for a change!

[TheTravellers]

Front page of Huffington Post, above the fold. Just f-ing great, way to go, OK!

Oklahoma Botches Clayton Lockett's Execution

Just stop the death penalty, be civilized....

[zookeeper]

Life in Prison with No Parole is a far bigger punishment than death. We shouldn't be in the execution business in 2014. These men don't deserve to live, but they don't deserve to die and end their pain either.

Breaking all over the major news sites:
CNN: Oklahoma authorities stopped one execution and postponed another after botching the delivery of drugs.

From Channel 4...a timeline...

NewsChannel 4′s Courtney Francisco was a witness to the scheduled execution, she provided the following time line:
6:23 PM – Prison officials raise the blinds. Execution begins.
6:28 PM – Inmate shivering, sheet shaking. Breathing deep.
6:29 PM – Inmate blinking and gritting his teeth. Adjusts his head.
6:30 PM – Prison officials check to see if inmate is unconscious. Doctor says “He’s not unconscious”. Inmate says “I’m not.” Female prison official says, “Mr. Lockett is not unconscious.”
6:32 PM – Inmate’s breathing is normal, mouth open, eyes shut. For a second time, prison officials check to see if inmate is unconscious.
6:33 PM – Doctor says, “He is unconscious”. Prison official says “Mr. Lockett is unconscious.”
6:34 PM – Inmate’s mouth twitches. No sign of breathing.
6:35 PM – Mouth movement.
6:36 PM – Inmate’s head moves from side to side, then lifts his head off the bed.
6:37 PM – Inmate lifts his head and feet slightly off the bed. Inmate tries to say something, mumbles while moving body.
6:38 pm – More movement by the inmate. At this point the inmate is breathing heavily and appears to be struggling.
6:39 PM – Inmate tries to talk. Says “Man” and appears to be trying to get up. Doctor checks on inmate. Female prison official says, “We are going to lower the blinds temporarily”. Prison phone rings. Director of Prisons, Robert Patton answers the phone and leaves the room – taking three state officials with him.
Minutes later – The Director Of Prisons comes back into the room and tells the eyewitnesses that there has been a vein failure. He says, “The chemical did not make it into the vein of the prisoner. Under my authority, we are issuing a stay of execution.”

Inmate dies of massive heart attack 30-minutes later. Second execution scheduled for tonight is cancelled.

[kevinpate]

I want to claim shock and surprise at tonight's execution being fubar. Alas, I can not.

Like his current counsel, I have great difficulty with the vein explanation as the source of the problems earlier this evening.

[soonerguru]

This is a black eye for Oklahoma. We are going to be the subject of many breathless national news stories, and we will deserve it. Thank you Mary Fallin.

[Achilleslastand]

Not that I have one iota of sympathy for the executed but this is embarrassing for the state.

[LocoAko]

This is a black eye for Oklahoma. We are going to be the subject of many breathless national news stories, and we will deserve it. Thank you Mary Fallin.

Yep. I already see people nationwide talking about what a barbaric, backwards state we are, furthering their already held low opinions of us.

The article I read on this was disturbing from top to bottom. The criminals, the way this transpired, everything. Very unnerving. Even the fact that there was a $15 maximum on a final meal made me uncomfortable. The entire process is just awful.

[MsProudSooner]

I'm not an 'anti-death penalty' person, but if you are going to execute someone, do it quickly. We put down rabid animals more humanely than what was described on the news.