Attorneys For Death Row Inmates Rest Protocol Case

Attorneys for Oklahoma death row inmates have rested their case against the state’s execution protocol.

The final expert for the prisoners witnessed the execution of Gilbert Postelle last month. Wednesday, she testified he was likely in extreme pain.

Dr. Gail Van Norman is a University of Washington anesthesiologist with three decades experience. She said with “virtual medical certainty” Oklahoma’s four most recent prisoners executed “experienced extreme pain and suffering.”

She said the first drug meant to make the execution painless doesn’t actually do that. Midazolam is that drug. It’s in the same category of drug as Valium and Xanax.

The anesthesiologist said that drug plus a muscle paralytic leaves the prisoners unable to express their pain.

She pointed to hand movements during Postelle’s execution, arguing he was trying to make a fist, a sign he was in destress according to the Van Norman.

The doctor criticized the machine recording the prisoners’ vital signs during the execution. She said the data was inaccurate, incomplete, and unreliable.

Attorneys for the state pushed back at Van Norman’s reliance on media reports, attempting to poke holes in her statements.

In a bit of drama Wednesday, Van Norman also noted a drug listed in an execution report of Gilbert Postelle wasn’t the drug expected to be used.

The paralytic drug “rocuronium” is written on a printout of vital signs instead of “vercuronium bromide” listed in DOC longs.

“We can’t rule out that the wrong drug was given,” plaintiff witness Dr. Gail Van Norman said.

Wednesday afternoon the Oklahoma Department of Corrections did rule that out.

“The use of the word ‘rocuronium’ was a transcription error,” the agency said in a statement. “The transcription error was brought to the agency’s attention shortly after the Gilbert Postelle execution. The agency confirmed, through verification of documents and employees, the drug Vecuronium Bromide was the drug utilized.”

Wednesday ended with the state’s first expert witness. Dr. Joseph Antognini testified to the safety and efficacy of midazolam to induce general anesthesia. More state witnesses including DOC director Scott Crow and DOC Chief of Operations Justin Ferris are expected to take the stand later this week.