Oklahoma board cites execution flaws, recommends clemency

By KEN MILLER
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has voted to recommend clemency for a death row inmate after questioning the state’s execution methods. The board voted 3-2 Wednesday to recommend that Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt commute the sentence of 79-year-old Bigler Jobe Stouffer II to life without parole. Board members said they are convinced of Stouffer’s guilt, but raised questions in light of the Oct. 28 execution of John Marion Grant in which Grant vomited and convulsed after the sedative midazolam was administered. The board noted that a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s three-drug lethal injection protocol is to begin in February.