Starting this week, as many as 25 Oklahoma death row inmates are scheduled to face lethal injection over the next two years – despite persistent questions about whether the state’s killer cocktail violates the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. State Rep. Jason Lowe, a criminal defense attorney, joins us for this week’s Observercast – Executions In A Pro-Life State – to discuss state-sanctioned killings – and efforts, including some led by conservative Republican lawmakers, to re-consider the eye-for-an-eye approach to criminal justice.
Editor’s Note: Since our conversation with Rep. Lowe was recorded, Gov. Kevin Stitt postponed Richard Glossip’s scheduled execution to Dec. 8 to give the state Court of Criminal Appeals time to consider a defense motion for a hearing into recently discovered evidence in the case. But as of Monday night, Stitt had not acted on the state Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation he grant clemency to James Coddington, scheduled to be executed this Thursday.
Meanwhile, a group calling itself Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About The Death Penalty disclosed Monday it will announce its formation at a Thursday state Capitol news conference in which it will call for a moratorium on executions. Speakers at the kickoff event will include state Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow; former Pardon and Parole Board Chairman Adam Luck; the group’s state coordinator Brett Farley; and national CCATDP manager Demetrius Minor.
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