Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin issued a last-minute stay of execution for Richard Glossip on Wednesday afternoon amid questions about the drugs purchased for his lethal injection.
“Last minute questions were raised today about Oklahoma’s execution protocol and the chemicals used for lethal injection,” Fallin said in a statement. “After consulting with the attorney general and the Department of Corrections, I have issued a 37 day stay of execution while the state addresses those questions and ensures it is complying fully with the protocols approved by federal courts.”
Oklahoma ’s lethal-injection protocol uses a three-drug cocktail of midazolam, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride to sedate, paralyze, and kill the inmate. According to the governor’s executive order, the state purchased potassium acetate instead of potassium chloride, and is currently exploring whether it can lawfully use potassium acetate to execute Glossip.
The stay raises new questions about Oklahoma’s secretive lethal-injection protocol. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state’s use of the controversial sedative midazolam in executions in the wake of the botched execution of Clayton Lockett in April of 2014. Glossip was the lead plaintiff in that case, and would have been the first person executed by Oklahoma since the decision. His next execution date is November 6.
Updated on September 30 at 4:06 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a stay of execution for Richard Glossip, a death-row inmate in Oklahoma whose claim of innocence had attracted international attention, paving the way for his execution Wednesday evening.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals had granted Glossip a two-week stay of execution on September 16 to review new evidence. On Monday, they rejected his appeal and allowed the execution to proceed. Glossip then petitioned the Supreme Court for a stay of execution and filed a writ of certiorari in which he argued he is innocent. On Wednesday evening, the court rejected his appeal.
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