SCOTUS denies yet another appeal on secret compounding pharmacies and Oklahoma’s governor tries to circumvent her state’s Supreme Court ruling on that issue
William Rousan’s attorneys tried desperately to stop his Missouri execution by appealing to the Supreme Court on grounds that the state was planning to use "compounded pentobarbital prepared by an unknown person in an unknown manner, without any assurance by an accredited laboratory that the substance is what the state purports it to be."
On September 21, 1993, Rousan, his 16-year-old son Brent and the elder Rousan’s brother Robert murdered Charles Lewis, 67, and his wife Gracie, 62, at their farm near Bonne Terre. The murders were orchestrated by William who wanted to steal some of the Lewis’ cattle. Brent ambushed Lewis while he was on a riding lawnmower and shot him six times. Mrs. Lewis, who had been on the phone with her daughter, stepped outside after hearing the gunfire and was shot several times by Brent. She managed to get back in the house, but William dragged her back outside and told his son to “Finish her off.” Brent than shot her in the side of the head.
Brent was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Robert cooperated with the prosecution and pled guilty to second degree murder. He was released from prison in 2001 after serving only seven years. William was sentenced to death for being the mastermind behind the brutal killings. His execution was scheduled for 12:01 a.m. Wedneday.
When Missouri refused to reveal the name of the compounding pharmacy that supplied the lethal drug, Rousan’s attorneys made their last minute appeal to SCOTUS. The court turned down that appeal and Rousan was put to sleep like a baby as scheduled.
In Oklahoma, the state’s Supreme Court on Monday halted Tuesday’s scheduled execution of Clayton Lockett and that of Charles Warner, scheduled for April 29, ruling that they had the right to challenge the secrecy by which the state obtained its execution drugs. Gov. Mary Fallin is trying to circumvent the court’s ruling by issuing an executive order compelling the authorities to execute both Lockett and Warner on April 29.
Kudos to Gov. Fallin. Stay tuned to see how her executive order plays out. And kudos to SCOTUS for refusing to fall for that phony baloney about the condemned being entitled to know the source of execution drugs. You would think that after several denials of such appeals, attorneys for the condemned would stop beating that dead horse.
1 comment:
The anti-death penalty types will reach for any straw that may give them leverage regardless of how much of a reach it might be. Any way to thwart the law is their goal. Any means to do so are acceptable.
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