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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/
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/
