Clayton Lockett died Tuesday night. The State of Oklahoma executed him. Something happened in the process of executing Mr. Lockett.
It did not go as planned.
Witnesses say he writhed and shook on the table. Twenty minutes after the lethal injection had been administered, Mr. Lockett died of a heart attack.
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Immediately, the online and on television commentariat began morally preening over the state executing Clayton Lockett.
Liberals and even some conservatives were outraged.
Liberals are again calling for the end of all executions. They do not want Oklahoma to execute its next murderer on death row.
Much was tweeted and much will be written and said today about the savagery of executions. Some will declare all executions “cruel and unusual,” thereby suggesting they are unconstitutional — never mind the long history of executions in this country.
One person who will not weigh in on the merits of Clayton Lockett’s execution is Stephanie Neiman. Clayton Lockett tried to rob a house Miss Neiman was at. She tried to fight him off. He and his accomplices overwhelmed her.
They beat her, bound her with duct tape, taped her mouth shut, shot her, then buried her alive. Many of those outraged at how Mr. Lockett’s execution played out will, hopefully, pause to reflect on exactly why the state chose to execute him.
Sadly, Stephanie Neiman, is unavailable for comment on the situation.
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