Former Governor of Texas, Rick Perry was asked by David Gregory if the botched execution in Oklahoma was inhumane after a new batch of drugs failed to do the job on Clayton Lockett and left him writhing in pain for over forty minutes before he died of a heart attack. Perry's response was that he didn't know if it was inhumane, huh?
GOVERNOR RICK PERRY: I think we have an appropriate process in place, from the standpoint of the appeals process, to make sure that due process is addressed. And the process of the actual execution I would suggest to you is very different from Oklahoma. 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.
DAVID GREGORY: And humane?
GOVERNOR RICK PERRY: And humane.
DAVID GREGORY: Was this inhumane?
GOVERNOR RICK PERRY: I don't know whether it was inhumane or not, but it was botched. And I hope that not only the governor, the legislators will look at the process in Oklahoma.
DAVID GREGORY: But you don't even want, even somebody convicted of a heinous crime, you don't want to see the government responsible for forcing a heart attack because they couldn't inject the proper lethal drugs.
GOVERNOR RICK PERRY: There is an appropriate way to deal with this. And obviously, something went terribly wrong.
You think there was something wrong? Stating the obvious is not an answer. If it wasn't an inhumane action then why not execute people like this in Texas, Rick?
Texas is the #1 death penalty state in America by a wide margin.
Executions since 1976: 510. Innocent people freed from Death Row: 12. People on Death Row now: 298.
Rick Perry can never live down what happened to him in the 2012 GOP presidential primaries.
There's some good news for Perry though, Dick Morris is saying that he could make a comeback in 2016. Sorry, Rick. I forgot for a second that it was Dick Morris hyping you and as we know, he's always wrong. Did I say he was always wrong? Well, he is.
Digby's post on cruel and unusual punishment explains a lot:
That whole thing about cruel and unusual punishment in the constitution? Eh...
Days after his state bungled the execution of a death row inmate, Oklahoma state Rep. Mike Christian (R) appeared to be uncompromising on his death penalty views.
In an interview with the Associated Press published Saturday, Christian said Clayton Lockett's case did not sway his support for the practice.
"I realize this may sound harsh," Christian told the AP, "but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."He's as serious as a Roman Emperor about this:
Prior to the execution horror, Fox News reported Monday that Christian spearheaded an effort to impeach Oklahoma state Supreme Court justices who were aiming to delay Lockett's death. After the incident Tuesday, Christian released a detailed statement, explaining how the botched execution was "unfortunate," but the "real takeaway" was Lockett's killing of a teenager.
Interesting that a man with the last name of Christian would say such things, don't you think?
