News & Commentary

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin stayed the execution of Richard Glossip late Wednesday afternoon, less than an hour after the United States Supreme Court denied Glossip's request for an emergency stay. The 37-day stay is the second in the past two weeks for Glossip. Late Wednesday afternoon, Fallin's office issued a brief statement:“Last minute questions were raised today about Oklahoma’s execution protocol and the chemicals used for lethal injection," Fallin's statement said. “After consulting with the attorney general and the Department of Corrections, I have issued a 37 day stay of execution while the state addresses those questions and ensures it is complying fully with the protocols approved by federal courts.”Gossip's new execution date has been set for Friday, November 6. Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director of American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma said Oklahoma's government wasn't doing much "to foster a sense of confidence that it can conduct an execution without botching it.""Today, the state has, once again, demonstrated its incompetence," Kiesel said. "That said, as much as this is evidence of the state’s incompetence, we are grateful Oklahoma has stepped away from the error, avoiding another potentially botched execution."Kiesel said it was "unfathomable that it took Department of Corrections officials nearly an hour after the scheduled time of execution to come forward and say there were problems with the drug protocol.""If Oklahomans had any doubt that their government can competently exercise its greatest authority over human life, then those doubts should be magnified ten-fold today," he said. "It’s difficult to imagine what was going through Mr. Glossip’s mind as he waited for his life to end for the third time. The psychological trauma inflicted upon the Glossip family may be, itself, the very type of cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the United States Constitution. We fail to understand how anyone could say the events of the past several months resemble justice for the Van Treese family or the rest of Oklahoma."Oklahoma can, and must do better, he said.

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Story & Photographs by M. Scott Carter

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“I believe the topic of civil asset forfeiture is too important to be overshadowed by politics. I would prefer to hold an open and transparent discussion on civil asset forfeiture so both sides of the issue can go on the record to present their cases,” said Loveless, R-Oklahoma City.

“Our State Capitol is the seat of government and is located in the center of the state so we can perform our duties out in the open, not in a backroom away from the prying eyes of the public and media. Transparency, especially when discussing a major reform like this, is critical to finding the truth. I look forward to getting together with my colleagues to examine this issue and re