Execution records to remain sealed

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A federal judge has ordered documents related to the botched execution of Clayton Lockett to remain sealed.

Attorneys for death row inmates filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot to unseal thousands of pages connected to the troubled April 29 lethal injection of Lockett.

The Tulsa World reports Friot ordered the Department of Public Safety in September to hand over the records produced during its investigation into Lockett’s death but declined Monday to unseal them.

The inmates’ lawsuit claims the state’s execution process subjects inmates to cruel and unusual punishment and seeks a preliminary injunction. Four of the plaintiffs are scheduled to be executed next year.