“While it may be gruesome to look at, we all agree it will be quicker.' The judge did not issue a decision Monday on the inmates' motion, but said he hoped to release an order by the end of the week. “There's a lot for me to get my mind around'
— want U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot to grant them a temporary injunction that would delay their upcoming executions until a trial can be held over whether Oklahoma's three-drug lethal injection method is constitutional. A trial is set to begin before Friot on Feb. 28, but Grant is scheduled to be put to death on Jan. 27, while Postelle is set for execution on Feb. 17.
“While it may be gruesome to look at, we all agree it will be quicker," attorney Jim Stronski told Friot after a day-long hearing in Oklahoma City. Friot did not issue a decision Monday on the inmates' motion, but said he hoped to release an order by the end of the week.Among the experts who testified was Dr. James Williams, an emergency medicine specialist from Texas who has more than 40,000 hours of emergency room experience and who has extensively studied the use of firing squads.
Williams, himself the victim of a gunshot wound to the chest area, testified that a firing squad involving shots from at least four high-powered rifles to the “cardiac bundle" of the heart would be so quick that an inmate wouldn't feel pain. He also said that unlike lethal injection, there is an extremely low likelihood that the execution would be botched.
Oklahoma has never used firing squad as a method of executing prisoners since statehood, but current state law does allow for its use if other methods, like lethal injection, were determined to be unconstitutional or otherwise unavailable. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections does not currently have execution protocols in place for any method other than lethal injection.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Plainfield school district cancels class Monday due to 'spiking number of bus drivers with COVID'Plainfield School District 202 sent a letter to parents and staff Sunday announcing it will be an 'emergency day,' which will be made up in-person on May 31.
Read more »
Class officially canceled in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Monday as standoff drags on'What the teachers' union did was an illegal walkout. They abandoned their posts and they abandoned kids and their families,' Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a national news interview on Sunday.
Read more »
Missing 14-year-old boy last seen Monday near school in Coppell, police sayPolice are searching for a 14-year-old boy last seen near a school Monday in Coppell. An Endangered Missing Persons alert was issued early Tuesday for...
Read more »
Mount Greenwood school holds classes Monday after enough teachers, staff come in to workWhile most Chicago Public Schools were not in session Monday, students at Mt. Greenwood Elementary were back in the classroom as enough teachers showed up to work to hold in person learning.
Read more »
4 killed in Monday night shootings across Philadelphia, police sayFour people were killed by gunfire Monday night in Philadelphia, including a double homicide in Kensington that saw both victims shot over a dozen times.
Read more »