Editing Clayton Lockett (section)

=== On lethal injections[edit] ===
From 1890 to 2010, the rate of botched<sup>[a]</sup> lethal injections in the United States was 7.1%, higher than any other form of execution, with firing squads at 0%, the electric chair at 1.9%, hangingat 3.1%, and the gas chamber at 5.4%.

In 2011, Hospira announced that it would stop manufacturing sodium thiopental, due to use by American prisons for executions. "Virtually all" death rows in the US were left without a steady supply of the drug, which is used to numb the pain of potassium chloride stopping the heart. Some states bartered supplies of execution drugs, while other states were accused of illegally buying drugs from India and other sources. The Drug Enforcement Administration seized supplies of sodium thiopental from several states in spring and summer 2011, questioning how they were imported.<sup>[12]</sup> Other manufacturers have also refused to provide pharmaceutical drugs for the purpose of execution, and a European export ban added to problems obtaining the necessary drugs.

Due to the supply issues, Oklahoma used an untested mixture of midazolam, vecuronium bromide, and potassium chloride for Lockett's execution.While Florida had previously used the same three drugs in a 2013 execution, they used 500 mg of midazolam rather than the 100 mg used by Oklahoma. Secrecy laws in Oklahoma prevent the public knowing more than which three drugs were used. The state refused to state why that drug combination was chosen, what the drugs were like and how they were obtained. Reportedly, the drugs were bought with petty cash making the transaction harder to track and to challenge legally.

In a recent Florida case experts testified that midazolam would not cause unconsciousness. Instead of sedating some patients midazolam can make them violent. Dennis McGuire took 25 minutes to die; he gasped and snorted. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that if the first drug does not make the inmate unconscious there is an unacceptable risk of suffocation and pain from the two following drugs. Potassium chloride causes severe pain if used without an anesthetic. Pharmacology professor, Craig Stevens of Oklahoma State University asked whyanesthesiology or pharmacology experts were not consulted. "Midazolam has no analgesic properties. It's a whole different drug class than sodium thiopental or barbiturates," Stevens said. Stevens described dying from the other two drugs without anesthetic as "horrific".The drug combination used is considered too painful to euthanise animals. "Veterinarians in at least one state are barred from using a three-drug formula used on several inmates, including Clayton Lockett."

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin had strongly pushed for the execution to take place despite the lack of standard drugs, initially issuing an executive order to proceed despite a stay by theSupreme Court of Oklahoma. Republican allies of Fallin started impeachment proceedings against the justices who tried to delay the execution; the stay was later lifted. Lockett's lawyers also unsuccessfully sought to force Oklahoma to reveal the source of the drugs, which the state refused. Oklahoma officials testified that the drugs to be used in Lockett's execution had been legally obtained and had not expired.

Before the execution, Lockett's stepmother LaDonna Hollins was reported as saying, "I want to know what mixture of drugs are you going to use now? Is this instant? Is this going to cause horrible pain?" and "I know he's scared. He said he's not scared of the dying as much as the drugs administered."