The first execution to be carried out in Oklahoma in six years went messed up as the condemned detainee suffered tremendously for 20 minutes before dying.
Reporters described the horrific scene at the execution chamber Thursday afternoon where 60-year-old John Grant shouted dozens of times, convulsed, and vomited before losing consciousness.
“He began convulsing about two-dozen times, full-body convulsions, and began to vomit which covered his face and began to run down his neck and to the side of his face,” AP’s Sean Murphy who witnessed the execution said.
It took 15 minutes for Grant to lose consciousness and get the two remaining lethal drugs. His heart stopped at 4:16 p.m. and five minutes later, he was declared dead.
Grant was sentenced to death in 2000 for the stabbing death of a prison kitchen worker two years earlier. The victim’s daughter attended Grant’s execution.
“At least now we are starting to get justice for our loved ones. The death penalty is about protecting any potential future victims,” she said.
“Even after Grant was removed from society, he committed an act of violence that took an innocent life. I pray that justice prevails for all the other victims’ loved ones.”
