Gov. Rick Perry defends death penalty in Texas

Published December 20, 2015

Texas Gov. Rick Perry defended his state's use of the death penalty in the wake of a botched execution in neighboring Oklahoma.

“I think we have an appropriate process in place from the standpoint of the appeals process to make sure that due process is addressed,” the Republican Perry said on NBC's “Meet the Press.”

“And the process of the actual execution, I will suggest to you, is very different from Oklahoma,” he added. “We only use one drug. But I'm confident that the way that the executions are taken care of in the state of Texas are appropriate.”

In Oklahoma, convicted killer Clayton Lockett died of a heart attack after the dose of drugs administered through lethal injection did not work properly.