Oklahoma attorneys say execution method is constitutional
By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Attorneys for Oklahoma say the state’s three-drug lethal injection method is constitutional and that it’s unlikely inmates will experience much pain before they die. Oklahoma Solicitor General Mithun Mansinghani made that argument Monday during the close of a six-day federal trial over the state’s execution method. But attorneys for 28 death row inmates argue the first of the three drugs, the sedative midazolam, is not enough to render an inmate completely unable to feel pain. Therefore, they argue the method is likely to result in serious pain and should be rejected. Federal District Judge Stephen Friot is expected to render a decision in the case after several weeks.