As Oklahoma Renews Executions, First Inmate Dies Convulsing and Vomiting

Hours after the Supreme Court lifted a lower Oklahoma court’s stay of execution, John Marion Grant died convulsing and vomiting from the sedative midazolam, the first in a three-part lethal cocktail used by the state to execute death row inmates that is potential fodder for death penalty critics. His execution formally ends a six-year hiatus in Oklahoma following concerns over a string of botched lethal injections, reports the Washington Post. More than two dozen Oklahoma death row inmates filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the state’s three-drug protocol for lethal injections risks causing pain and suffering, which they claim is unconstitutional.

The trial is expected to begin in early 2022. Grant’s execution is seen as a “human experiment” for the other death row inmates involved in the lawsuit. In a statement, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections said, “Grant’s execution was carried out in accordance with … protocols and without complication.” Almost immediately after receiving the sedative midazolam — the first of the three drugs administered, including vecuronium bromide, a paralytic, and potassium chloride to stop the heart — Grant began convulsing and vomiting. The incident mirrors three previously botched lethal injections in Oklahoma, including the executions of Clayton Lockett — who in 2014 writhed in pain for 40 minutes before he died — and Charles Warner, whose last words were “My body is on fire” after an unauthorized drug was used on him.