United States: Convict hanged in horrific pain

A prisoner sentenced to death on Thursday in the US state of Oklahoma was shocked by vomiting and seizures, where executioners used the controversial dangerous cocktail. John Grant, a 60-year-old African-American, was sentenced to death in 2000 for murder.

After receiving a green light from the U.S. Supreme Court, prison officials in this conservative southern state injected him with three items and his death was announced at 4:21 p.m. This protocol was already in use in 2014 and 2015, but the apparent suffering of prisoners led the state to ban the death penalty.

John Grant “Epilepsy occurred shortly after injection of the first product” Sean Murphy, a reporter for the US agency AB, saw the scene. According to him, he had seizures and vomited about 20 times before he died. “I have seen 14 executions, I have never seen before”, The journalist added.

The convict’s trial immediately sparked strong criticism for the murder of a woman who worked in a prison cafeteria who was serving a sentence in an armed robbery case by a screwdriver. “Oklahoma ruined its last three execution attempts before its six-year hiatus, but apparently learned nothing from that experience.”, AFP commented to Robert Dunham, who heads the Information Center on the Death Penalty (DPIC).

“For the third time in a row, Oklahoma’s implementation protocol is not working properly. “, Dale Baich, a lawyer for several convicts, including John Grant. “The death penalty should not be imposed in Oklahoma until the trial begins in February. He added that it would address that particular issue.

“Prisoner Grant’s execution was carried out according to Oklahoma Amendments protocol and without complications.“, Justin Wolf argued in a statement, liaison director of prison services. The latter confirmed their protocol a few days ago. “Human and efficient” And the execution may resume.

However, attorney Dale Boyce insisted he would continue.Serious questions “ Compliance with the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the pain and “cruel and unusual punishments” caused by this deadly cocktail. The appellate court on Wednesday ruled in his favor and suspended the execution. But officials in Oklahoma immediately seized the U.S. Supreme Court and demanded that the decision be reversed.

Without explaining its reasons, the Supreme Court finally gave the green light to the execution of extremists. Its three progressive judges, however, made it clear that they did not agree with the Conservative majority.

The competing protocol combines an anesthetic, midazolam and an anesthetic, which is believed to prevent dangerous levels of potassium chloride pain before injection. It was used to hang the Clayton Locket in 2014, but the offender suffered 43 minutes of apparent pain.

In 2015, another convict, Charles Warner, complained that his body had been “burned” before he died, and executioners used a non-compliant product. The same error was recreated almost in September 2015 and a last-minute execution was postponed. Following these failures, a large panel of arbitrators began an investigation and the authorities agreed to suspend the death sentence application. In 2020, they finalized a new protocol and set several implementation dates starting in 2021 at John Grant.

Oklahoma plans to hang Julius Jones, a 41-year-old African American who was sentenced to death in 2002, on November 18 for the murder of a white businessman he has always denied. His case was the subject of a documentary series, supported by a podcast and several associations and figures such as Kim Kardashian, who firmly believed he was innocent.