Oklahoma recently made national news and not the good kind either. Following a spate of bungled executions and an embarrassing admission that they used the wrong lethal injection drug, an Oklahoma multi-county grand jury was tasked with investigating the fiasco. Their findings were released last month, and they were appalling.
The grand jury report revealed that prior to a scheduled execution, Oklahoma officials realized that they were in possession of a chemical normally used to de-ice runways, rather than the approved execution drug. When this was discovered, the Governor’s General Counsel urged corrections officials to carry out the execution anyway. He claimed that the drugs were close enough and flippantly instructed corrections officials to “Google it.” Thankfully the execution was stayed, but the grand jury report exposed widespread government incompetence and negligence, which is prompting more Americans to reconsider the death penalty.
Not long after the Oklahoma report was released, a former Texas death row inmate took an important step toward rectifying his wrongful conviction. Kerry Max Cook was found guilty and sentenced to die in 1978, but he was released in 1999, in part, because his case was marred by prosecutorial misconduct. However, the charges against him were never dropped. Nevertheless, Cook has always maintained his innocence, and earlier this month, he moved a little closer to officially clearing his name as prosecutors finally threw out the charges.
Conservatives Concerned in the Media
Following Oklahoma’s damning grand jury report, CCATDP was actively involved with the media, and we were featured in a host of outlets.
• The Washington Post, Business Insider, Daily Mail, Reason, and the New Yorker included our comments on Oklahoma’s lethal injection debacle.
• I was interviewed on the Capitol Hill Show with Tim Constantine and returned as a guest to Tipping Point with Liz Wheeler to discuss new developments in Oklahoma as well as in Florida.
• CCATDP was featured in another Washington Post article that was reprinted in the Salt Lake City Tribune and the Tulsa World.
• We were the central topic of a Governing Magazine story, and we also enjoyed mentions in Catholic News Life and Get Religion.
Upcoming
I will be heading to Denver, Colorado for the Western Conservative Summit, which is the largest conservative conference outside of Washington, DC. The gathering is July 1-3, and I will be joined by Better Priorities’ Stacy Anderson. Tickets are still available, and we would love to see you there!
From July 26-30, CCATDP’s Ben Jones and I will be in DC to participate in the Young Americans for Liberty national convention for the fourth year in a row. If you’re in the area, then make sure to drop by and say hello!
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