Okla. inmate tased, refused meal before botched execution
The Oklahoma man whose botched execution garnered national attention this week was tased and refused a meal before being led into the death chamber, according to a timeline released Thursday by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Clayton Lockett, 38, died Tuesday evening from a heart attack nearly 40 minutes after he was injected with a new combination of drugs that were supposed to kill him. Lockett, who was convicted of shooting a 19-year-old woman and watching as two accomplices buried her alive, was pronounced unconscious at 10 minutes after the drugs were administered, but then reportedly began breathing heavily, clenching his teeth, and trying to lift his head off the pillow.
His death prompted Governor Mary Fallin to halt all scheduled executions in the state and call for an independent review of Oklahoma's execution protocols.
According to the timeline of events leading up to the execution, at 5:50 a.m. on April 29, Lockett was tased after refusing to be restrained. About 45 minutes later, he was taken to the medical room "for treatment of self-inflicted injuries" including a laceration on his right arm. At about 9:15 a.m., Lockett "refused visits from his attorneys" and at 11:11 a.m. he was "offered a food tray and refused the food tray."
Medical personnel examined Lockett's body and said they were unable to find a viable vein in his arms or legs, instead choosing to inject him in "the groin area." The first drug, midazolam, was administered at 6:23 p.m., and the second two, Vecuronium bromide and Potassium chloride, 10 minutes later.
Eleven minutes later, according to the timeline, things started to go wrong: "The doctor checked the IV and reported the blood vein had collapsed, and the drugs had either absorbed into tissue, leaked out or both."
At 6:56 p.m., Department of Corrections Director Richard Patton called off the execution. Lockett died 10 minutes later. He supports Governor Fallin's moratorium on executions pending an independent review of state procedures.
