Oklahoma man's execution halted amid larger lethal injection debate
An Oklahoma man鈥檚 lethal injection was delayed for the second time Wednesday amid appeals to revisit the evidence.
At 3 p.m. Wednesday, Richard Glossip was scheduled to be the state鈥檚 first execution since the US Supreme Court deemed the . However, a state appeals court agreed to move Mr. Glossip鈥檚 execution date to Sept. 30 with just hours to spare.
鈥淒ue to Glossip鈥檚 last minute filing, and in order for this Court to give fair consideration to the materials included with his subsequent application for post-conviction relief, we hereby grant an for two weeks,鈥� said the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
In 1997, Richard Glossip had allegedly paid a motel worker, Justin Sneed, to kill motel owner Barry Van Treese. Though Mr. Glossip was not the killer, Mr. Sneed . Glossip was convicted of murder and given the death sentence, while Sneed was sentenced to life in prison without parole in return for his testimony. 聽
Glossip鈥檚 conviction was overturned in 2004 due to ineffective legal counsel, but once again, jurors found Glossip guilty of murder and he was sentenced to death again that same year.
Glossip was originally scheduled for an injection this January that was called off when the Supreme Court decided to hear the case, though the case wasn鈥檛 actually heard until June. 鈥淭he court鈥檚 focus was not on the specifics of Glossip鈥檚 case, and the justices were instead asked about , the source of considerable debate since the botched execution of Clayton Lockett last year,鈥� reports The Washington Post.
Convicted for murder and rape, Mr. Lockett鈥檚 execution was highly publicized due to the state鈥檚 use of the drug midazolam, intended as a sedative. But the drug dosage given was apparently not enough. 鈥淟ockett's execution was ; he moaned and writhed on the gurney for 43 minutes before dying of a heart attack,鈥� reported CNN.
The drug caused problems in two other cases as well, leaving Dennis McGuire agonizing for 26 minutes in Ohio, and Joseph Wood gasping for two hours before dying in Arizona.
The high-profile cases brought lethal injection to the federal courts, with opponents arguing that midazolam 鈥溾�� during execution. Dale Baich, the lawyer who represents some Oklahoma death row inmates, deemed the drug 鈥渋nappropriate鈥� and 鈥渋nhumane.鈥�
But after further investigation of IV-insertion problems, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling. However, some Justices continued to question the constitutionality of the death penalty itself.
鈥淚 believe it highly likely that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment,鈥� Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote in a dissent. 鈥淎t the very least, the Court should call for full briefing on the basic question.鈥�
Justice Breyer鈥檚 remarks echo what Justice Sonia Sotomayor reminded the Supreme Court in a dissent regarding the Oklahoma execution of Charles Warner in January. 鈥淭he Eighth Amendment guarantees that no one should be subjected to an execution that causes ,鈥� she stated.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.
Overall, use of the death penalty is in decline, with Nebraska becoming the latest state to . According to the , 2014 saw the lowest number of executions since 1994, and the 72 death sentences imposed by US Courts last year is down from 315 in 1994.
Despite this, capital punishment still exists both federally and in 31 states. But it remains problematic as a judicial tool, according to Justice Breyer. 鈥淔or one thing, despite the difficulty of investigating the circumstances surrounding an execution for a crime that took place long ago, researchers have found convincing evidence that, in the past three decades, ,鈥� he said.
The problem boils down to the fallibility of the judicial system, determining without doubt those convicted are truly guilty or not. 鈥淗ow do we preserve the integrity of our justice system and our courts if we send condemned inmates to the lethal injection chamber with ?鈥� questioned law professor Robert J. Smith and G. Ben Cohen, counsel at the Promise of Justice Initiative, in an article posted on Slate.
鈥淎s more states consider joining Nebraska in abolishing capital punishment, they that will, in time, sway the U.S. Supreme Court,鈥� suggests Time reporter David Von Drehle.
