Experts tell U.S. court that Oklahoma had deeply flawed execution

BY HEIDE BRANDES
OKLAHOMA CITY Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:42pm EST

(Reuters) - The Oklahoma inmate put to death in a flawed April execution may have died in agonizing pain due to a troubled lethal injection mix, a medical expert on Wednesday told a U.S. court that is hearing arguments on whether to halt executions in the state.

Lawyers for 21 death row Oklahoma inmates, four of whom are scheduled to be executed next year, have asked the court to halt future executions there after the flawed lethal injection of convicted murderer Clayton Lockett in April that prompted the state to set up new execution protocols.

David Lubarsky, an anesthesiologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, said the sedative midazolam used in the injection cannot achieve the levels of unconsciousness needed for surgical procedures, and is therefore problematic for executions.

Lockett appeared to be conscious for longer than expected and probably was in pain when the final drugs in the injection, which were supposed to end his life, were administered.

"I believe the pain from the potassium chloride and the slow suffocation would be nothing short of agonizing," Lubarsky said.

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