Medical records show that the death row inmate detained in Oklahoma, whose death was alleged to have been the result of a botched execution in April, actually died as a consequence of the lethal injection administered on April 29.

Clayton Lockett, 38, was sentenced to die by lethal injection. On the day of the execution the inmate writhed and convulsed on a gurney. He died 43 minutes following the commencement of the execution. His manner of death and his body's reaction to the administered lethal injection incited nation debate over the country's capital punishment procedures. In effect, the uproar prompted U.S. President Barack Obama to order an evaluation of the death penalty system implemented.

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In an independent autopsy performed by authorities at the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, Lockett's demise was confirmed to have been "the result of judicial execution by lethal injection". The independent autopsy was conducted as part of the investigation, which centered on Lockett's death. Gov. Mary Fallin took charge of the said re-examination of the inmate's death. The official results of the investigation is said to go public in the days following its conclusion.

The autopsy indicates that a hemorrhaging was found in the soft tissue under Lockett's groin, where an IV was attached by the executioners. This observation implies that the IV may have been placed incorrectly. Investigators said in April that the drugs utilized in Lockett's execution may have amalgamated under the inmate's skin. However, the officials' claim that Lockett might have been dehydrated at the point was not substantiated in the independent report. In addition, the claim of that the Lockett died of a purported heart attack was not corroborated by the autopsy.    

As shown in the inmate's records, a combination of drugs was utilized in his execution. Based on their own admission, it was the first time that the Oklahoma executioners used such mixture of drugs in an execution of a death row inmate. Lockett was convicted in 2000 for the murder and rape of two young ladies. Court records show that he and two other accomplices assaulted their victims. One of the women was shot twice by Lockett. Witnesses stated that the other victim was buried alive, an action ordered by Lockett himself and directed towards his accomplices. 

Tagslethal injection, Oklahoma, death row, Clayton Lockett, Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, Mary Fallin