Supreme Court allows Oklahoma to proceed with execution

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Oklahoma to proceed with an execution planned for Thursday, which would be the state's first since a flawed lethal injection in April 2014 led to widespread criticism. In a decision released on Thursday, the court denied an appeal for a stay, with four of the nine justices dissenting. Oklahoma plans to execute convicted murderer and rapist Charles Warner later on Thursday. Lawyers for Warner said new protocols the state put in place after its faulty execution last April were still deeply flawed. They have raised concern about secrecy surrounding the source of the lethal injection cocktail and what is in the mix. In the April execution, inmate Clayton Lockett could be seen twisting on the gurney after death chamber staff failed to place the IV properly. Lawyers for Warner said the sedative used by Oklahoma could not achieve the level of unconsciousness required for surgery and was therefore unsuitable for executions. "Petitioners have committed horrific crimes, and should be punished. But the Eighth Amendment guarantees that no one should be subjected to an execution that causes searing, unnecessary pain before death," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Eric Walsh and Peter Cooney)