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ACLU Of Oklahoma Seeks Moratorium After Botched Execution

The main gate at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla.
duggar11
/
Flickr

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahomais calling for an immediate moratorium on executions in the state after an inmate died of a massive heart attack 43 minutes after his execution began.

Oklahoma was using a new drug protocol for the first time in Tuesday night's execution of Clayton Lockett. Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton stopped the execution after about 20 minutes, and Lockett later died of a heart attack.

The ACLU of Oklahoma, which was not a party in a legal challenge overOklahoma's law that keeps the source of execution drugs confidential, called for a "full and open" investigation into the execution.

ACLU of Oklahoma Legal Director Brady Henderson says the ACLU hopes that courts will reconsider its rulings over secrecy involving the lethal drugs.

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