OKLAHOMA CITY – The state of Oklahoma executed a man Tuesday convicted of stabbing a horse trainer.
Johnny Black, 48, was executed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Black is the 6th to die in that state and 39th execution in the U.S. this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
According to CBS News, at a hearing before the state Pardon and Parole Board in November, Black begged forgiveness for his actions.
There are 55 persons on death row in Oklahoma.
In Oklahoma, the current death penalty law was enacted in 1977 by the state Legislature. The method to carry out the execution is by lethal injection. The original death penalty law in Oklahoma called for executions to be carried out by electrocution. In 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the death penalty as it was then administered.
Oklahoma has executed a total of 176 men and 3 women between 1915 and 2011 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Eighty-two were executed by electrocution, one by hanging (a federal prisoner) and 96 by lethal injection. The last execution by electrocution took place in 1966.
The drugs used in the execution process in Oklahoma are:
– Sodium Thiopental or Pentobarbital – causes unconsciousness
– Vecuronium Bromide – stops respiration
– Potassium Chloride – stops heart
Two intravenous lines are inserted, one in each arm. The drugs are injected by hand held syringes simultaneously into the two intravenous lines. The sequence is in the order that the drugs are listed above. Three executioners are utilized, with each one injecting one of the drugs.