An American archbishop says a botched execution of a prisoner in Oklahoma underscores the brutality of the death penalty.
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City said this after an attempt to execute convicted killer Clayton Lockett by lethal injection on April 29.
A combination of three lethal drugs was being used in the state for the first time.
Lockett eventually died of a massive heart attack after the execution was halted.
He was seen writhing, breathing heavily, grinding his teeth and attempting to lift his head off a pillow as the second and third drugs were administered.
Prison officials later said an intravenous line became dislodged.
Archbishop Coakley said “how we treat criminals says a lot about us as a society”.
Justice must be administered with consideration for the victims of crime, but this must be done in a way that doesn’t contribute to “the culture of death”, he said.
Given the fact that human lives are a gift from God, there should be very strict limits to the use of the death penalty, the archbishop said.
It should be used neither as a deterrent, nor as vengeance, he said.
“In general there are other ways to administer just punishment, without having to resort to lethal measures,” he continued.
“The execution of Clayton Lockett really highlights the brutality of the death penalty, and I hope it leads us to consider whether we should adopt a moratorium on the death penalty, or even abolish it altogether,” the archbishop wrote.
He prayed for Lockett and his family, prison officials and for Lockett’s victim teenager Stephanie Neiman and her family.
In 1999, Lockett and accomplices kidnapped Neiman and three others; he shot her twice and watched as she was buried alive.
US President Barack Obama called the attempt to execute Lockett “deeply troubling”.
He will ask the attorney general to analyse problems surrounding the application of the death penalty in the US.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has stayed an upcoming execution as prison officials investigate, but she reaffirmed her support for capital punishment.
In total, 18 US states have abolished capital punishment.
Sources