Friday, October 9, 2015

Bulletin: Richard Glossip: Oklahoma; Administration of wrong drug to Charles Warner creates distrust in administration of justice in Oklahoma - and the death penalty; The City Sentinel; "Massachusetts, Harvard Law Profess Charles Ogletree commented, “The difference between murder and a state-sanctioned execution is that executions proceed under the color of law. Based on media reports, it appears Oklahoma did not follow its own laws when it executed Charles Warner. “U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch should initiate a Department of Justice investigation into why Oklahoma used the wrong drug, and whether any civil or even criminal liability should attach to the homicide of Charles Warner.” The City Sentinel;

"Dale Baich, an attorney for Glossip in Oklahoma’s Lethal Injection Case before the U.S. Supreme Court last summer stated, “We cannot trust Oklahoma to get it right or to tell the truth. The execution logs for Charles Warner say that he was administered potassium chloride, but now the State says potassium acetate was used. We will explore this in detail through the discovery process in the federal litigation.” Former state Sen. Connie Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, called the news concerning Warner “shocking and disturbing,” but said the recent turmoil is “essential” to the goals of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP).  Johnson is now chairman of the group, which is opposed to executions across-the-board. Johnson continued, saying the “revelation reinforces our efforts and renews our determination to continue to educate Oklahomans about the many things that are wrong with the death penalty. We look forward to continuing to add our voices to the dialog and the reporting around this latest revelation, with a goal of educating Oklahomans about the death penalty’s cost, potential for getting it wrong, and its arbitrariness and unfairness. This is awareness raising at a level that we’ve only ever hoped for.” Rev. Adam Leathers described members of the coalition, for which he is spokesperson, as “deeply troubled at the recent revelation that the wrong drug was used to kill Charles Warner. We understand that the execution process is complicated and we do not fault the Oklahoma Department of Corrections: they are simply doing their jobs. “The fault lies with our state’s leadership who insist on wasting vast amounts of our resources trying to do the wrong thing the right way. Nothing as evil, expensive, and so horrendously flawed as the Death Penalty should be allowed to exist.”... Rick Green, capitol reporter for The Oklahoman, the state’s largest newspaper, said Fallin told reporters the  news “certainly is not helpful to us having the death penalty in Oklahoma.” Green summarized the sequence of events this way: “An improperly set intravenous line slowed the death of one man, the wrong drug was given to another and a third execution was called off at the last minute because of the same drug mistake.” “Sure I’m frustrated, absolutely,” Fallin told the press corps.... From Massachusetts, Harvard Law Profess Charles Ogletree commented, “The difference between murder and a state-sanctioned execution is that executions proceed under the color of law. Based on media reports, it appears Oklahoma did not follow its own laws when it executed Charles Warner. “U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch should initiate a Department of Justice investigation into why Oklahoma used the wrong drug, and whether any civil or even criminal liability should attach to the homicide of Charles Warner.”
 http://city-sentinel.com/2015/10/death-penalty-controversy-rages-richard-glossips-life-spared-by-charles-warner-drug-debacle/