U.S. court to hear case on blocking executions in Oklahoma

By Heide Brandes OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - A federal judge in Oklahoma will hear arguments starting on Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by 21 death row inmates trying to halt future executions there after a troubled lethal injection this year led the state to revamp its death chamber protocols. Lawyers for the inmates, four of whom are scheduled to be executed next year, said the new protocols were unsound and the chemical combination in a revamped lethal injection combination could result in cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Oklahoma prison officials said they were confident their new protocols would be effective and fix problems that led to international criticism of its April execution of convicted murderer Clayton Lockett. A doctor and paramedic failed nearly a dozen times to place an IV in Lockett, finally landing a line in his groin area. But that line was improperly placed and eventually fell out, spewing lethal injection chemicals and blood in the death chamber. Lockett's execution was halted about 15 minutes after it started due to the IV problems. He died about 40 minutes after the process began from administered drugs absorbed in his tissue, a state report said. The lawsuit alleges that Oklahoma experimented on Lockett by administering a new drug protocol that relied on the sedative midazolam. The plaintiffs said the drug "is an unsuitable and inappropriate drug for use in executions" because it does not maintain the prisoner at an adequate level of unconsciousness. Prison officials were not immediately available for comment but have said their lethal injection combinations are humane and appropriate. The hearing is scheduled to run three days. (Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Peter Cooney)