Oklahoma inmate dies vomiting, convulsing during execution by lethal injection

Oklahoma administered the death penalty Thursday on a man who convulsed and vomited as he was executed for the 1998 slaying of a prison cafeteria worker, ending a six-year execution moratorium brought on by concerns over its execution methods.

John Marion Grant, 60, who was strapped to a gurney inside the execution chamber, began convulsing and vomiting after the first drug, the sedative midazolam, was administered. Several minutes later, two members of the execution team wiped the vomit from his face and neck.

Before the curtain was raised to allow witnesses to see into the execution chamber, Grant could be heard yelling, “Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” He delivered a stream of profanities before the lethal injection started. He was declared unconscious about 15 minutes after the first of three drugs was administered and declared dead about six minutes after that, at 4:21 p.m.

Someone vomiting while being executed is rare, according to observers.

“I’ve never heard of or seen that,” said Robert Dunham, executive director of the nonpartisan Death Penalty Information Center. “That is notable and unusual.”

Michael Graczyk, a retired Associated Press reporter who still covers executions for the organization on a freelance basis, has witnessed the death penalty being carried out about 450 times. He said Thursday he could only recall one instance of someone vomiting while being put to death.

The Oklahoma attorney general and governor did not respond to questions about Grant’s reactions to the drugs. In fact, Department of Corrections spokesman Justin Wolf said by email that the execution “was carried out in accordance with Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ protocols and without complication.”

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/oklahoma-inmate-dies-vomiting-convulsing-during-execution-by-lethal-injection/

What's next in Trump's scramble to stop the House from getting his White House docs

A federal appeals court Thursday granted former President Donald Trump's request to temporarily block the National Archives from turning over his White House records to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The committee had been set to receive the first batch of documents, which lawmakers say is key to their investigation, on Friday. In papers filed Thursday, lawyers for Trump asked the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to temporarily delay the turnover and to "maintain the status quo" while they push ahead with an expedited appeal.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-asks-appeals-court-temporarily-block-release-jan-6-records-n1283732

previously known

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/10/1054024084/capitol-riot-suspects-had-more-ties-to-oath-keepers-than-previously-known

Prosecutors have brought some of the most serious charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol against alleged members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right group that targets law enforcement and military veterans for recruitment. More than 20 suspected members of the Oath Keepers have been arrested, and some are facing charges of conspiracy. Now, an examination of hacked records - purportedly taken from Oath Keeper web servers - shows more defendants may have ties to the group than has been previously known.

The Oath Keeper records were obtained from the nonprofit organization Distributed Denial of Secrets. The organization describes itself as a "transparency collective" and has publicized a variety of leaked material. Included in the Oath Keepers leak were chat logs, emails and a list of nearly 40,000 names and contact information for members. Many of the people whose information appears in the Oath Keepers leak have confirmed to NPR and other news organizations that they did, in fact, sign up with the group.