Oklahoma City-- In response to a summary report of findings from an internal, partisan review of the events before, during, and after the State of Oklahoma’s botched execution of Clayton Lockett, the ACLU of Oklahoma makes the following statement:
The following is attributable to Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director, ACLU of Oklahoma:
It is appalling that the State of Oklahoma would try to pass this report off as the result of an independent inquiry when it is anything but independent. This incomplete report attempts to make light of fundamental failures that took place during the exercise of the government’s greatest authority; the deliberate taking of a person’s life. Regardless of where Oklahomans stand on the issue of the death penalty, we should all agree that we cannot grant the government this awesome power without demanding a level of accountability that reflects that power. That accountability can only be achieved with a truly independent investigation, not by a self-serving, internal review by government insiders that raises more questions than it answers.
The following is attributable to Brady Henderson, Legal Director, ACLU of Oklahoma:
What is not included in this report is concerning, but what is inside it is just as disturbing. The report details extreme carelessness, lack of appropriate preparation, and slipshod decision-making by some of those charged with carrying out the most tremendous expression of our state government’s power. Worse yet, this self-assessment attempts to minimize and cast aside the administration’s own mistakes rather than calling attention to its culture of careless behavior; a culture that desperately needs to change if we as Oklahomans want to have a government worthy of our trust.
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