The aftermath of the apparent botched execution of condemned death row inmate Clayton Lockett has forced state governor Mary Fallin to call off all scheduled executions in Oklahoma. Fallin said that she will lift the suspension of state executions until an independent review about Lockett's death was completed, TIME said.
Witnesses in Lockett's execution saw the condemned inmate writhing, convulsing and twitching multiple times after the three-drug lethal injection was administered on his system. Lockett's body reactions to the injection lasted 43 minutes, of which witnesses described the event as unsettling.
Aside from the probe into Lockett's cause of death, the review will also take an in-depth look into the state's execution protocols and will welcome recommendations on how to improve its procedure in handling executions.
TIME said Lockett's death incidentally came at the time when states are having difficulties on how to carry out death sentences by lethal injection. Months prior to Lockett's death, a legal back-and-forth in Oklahoma about a state secrecy law that protects information about the source of the drugs used in executions has been challenged. Charles Warner, who was supposed to die also by lethal injection a mere two hours following Lockett's schedule, was granted a 14-day stay of execution. When asked about Warner's fate in light of the review on Lockett's death, Fallin assured that the state will be forced to extend Warner's stay if the review has not been completed by that time.
Lockett's death apparently had an impact on the White House, TIME noted. Acknowledging the fact that White House spokesman Jay Carney has yet to discuss with President Barack Obama about Lockett's death, he reminded the public that the White House emphasized the need for the death penalty to be carried out humanely.
"I think everyone would recognize that this case fell short of that standard," he said.
