Oklahoma Execution Prompts Investigation

NPR | By The Associated Press

Published April 30, 2014 at 12:06 PM CDT

Death row inmates Clayton Lockett, left, and Charles Warner, right, were both scheduled to die April 29, 2014, in Oklahoma's first double execution in nearly 80 years. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP)

State officials will be conducting an autopsy of 38-year-old Clayton Lockett, the convicted felon who the state tried to execute with a combination of chemicals last night that the state had never tried before.

Lockett spoke, writhed and clenched his teeth on the gurney as it was happening. Officials lowered blinds so that members of the media who were there to observe could not report what was happening inside the death chamber.

State officials later said Lockett died from a heart attack. The state is conducting an investigation. Another execution scheduled for last night is on hold.

Graham Lee Brewer, who covers the Oklahoma prison system for The Oklahoman newspaper, was one of the media observers there. He discusses what he witnessed with Here & Now’s Robin Young.

See Graham Lee Brewer’s reporting on the execution

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Graham Lee Brewer, covers the Oklahoma prison system for The Oklahoman. He tweets @grahambrewer.

Oklahoma Execution Prompts Investigation

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