No executions have been carried out in the U.S. since the lethal-injection death of Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett went terribly awry seven weeks ago. But the practice is set to resume with the scheduled deaths of three convicts in three states within the next 24 hours.
Nine executions nationwide have been postponed or stayed since April when Lockett’s killing was complicated by a failure to properly insert intravenous needles. He died of a heart attack 43 minutes after prison officials began the execution process—which is supposed to take approximately 10 minutes.
Lockett’s death had been preceded by controversy about the origins of drugs used in executions, and the three states preparing for lethal injections this week—Florida, Georgia and Missouri—have not disclosed where they get their drugs. Georgia prisoner Marcus Wellons attempted and failed to have his execution stayed because the state had declined to provide details on the drug to be used. He is scheduled to die at 7 p.m. tonight, with Missouri’s execution of John Winfield scheduled for 12:01 a.m. tomorrow morning and Florida’s execution of John Ruthell Henry scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday.
