Oklahoma prepares to have executions resume

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Prison officials have renovated the death chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, ordered backup medical equipment, and developed new procedures for carrying out executions since a lethal injection went awry in the spring.

The state hopes to avoid a repeat of the April 29th execution of Clayton Lockett, who clenched his teeth, moaned and writhed on a gurney before a doctor noticed a problem with the intravenous line. The execution was called off before Lockett died anyway.

But with a brand-new set of protocols and staff training that needs to take place, many death penalty experts question whether Oklahoma will be ready to carry out the scheduled November 13th execution of Charles Frederick Warner.

Inmates Richard Glossip and John Grant are scheduled to die in the weeks following Warner.