CARNEY: "We have a fundamental standard in this country that even when the death penalty is justified, it must be carried out humanely. And I think everyone would recognize that this case fell short of that standard." (Via The White House)
That was White House spokesman Jay Carney speaking out on a botched execution in Oklahoma that has triggered national outrage. Clayton Lockett, on the left here, writhed on the gurney for 40 minutes after receiving an untested dosage of a controversial drug combination. (Via Oklahoma Department of Corrections)
Whether his execution should have been delayed to review that drug combination was the focus of weeks of debate over constitutional authority in Oklahoma. The state's Supreme Court ordered a stay, but Republican Gov. Mary Fallin ordered that the executions move forward. (Via KJRH, U.S. Department of Defense)
The botched execution is exactly the scenario Lockett's attorney had warned might play out with the untested drugs. Wednesday, Gov. Fallin ordered an investigation into the execution.
FALLIN: "I've also asked the Department of Public Safety and our commissioner, Michael Thompson, to lead an independent review of the state's execution procedures." (Via NBC)
Though a CBS legal analyst argued on Twitter that the governor asking the Commissioner of Public Safety who she appointed to report to her attorney general hardly qualifies as "independent."
Lockett's family also cried foul Wednesday, with his aunt saying: “It needs to be an outside source ... I don't trust anything Gov. Fallin has to say." (Via NBC)
Oklahoma is one of 32 states with the death penalty. Gallup polling says 60 percent of Americans do support capital punishment, though that's 20 percent less support than it had 20 years ago.
