4 Oklahoma Inmates Appeal Ruling Permitting Their Executions

4 Oklahoma Inmates Appeal Ruling Permitting Their Executions

Attorneys for the next four Oklahoma inmates scheduled to be executed filed an appeal on Thursday of a federal judge’s ruling allowing the executions to proceed.

The attorneys for Julius Jones, Wade Lay, Donald Grant and Gilbert Postelle filed their appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. They contend that U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot in Oklahoma City was wrong to conclude that their request for a preliminary injunction against their executions would fail on its merits.

Jones, whose case has drawn widespread attention since being featured in 2018 on the ABC documentary series “The Last Defense,” is scheduled to die on Nov. 18. He is awaiting Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s decision on a parole board recommendation that his life be spared.

The inmates sued for the injunction, saying that John Marion Grant’s Oct. 28 execution demonstrated that Oklahoma officials still have not resolved concerns over the state’s execution method. Grant convulsed and vomited as his lethal injection ended Oklahoma’s six-year moratorium on executions because of such concerns.