Executed
John David Duty
John David Duty, 58, was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester on December 16, 2010. The state used pentobarbital, a drug normally used to euthanise animals, in place of its usual anaesthetic after a national shortage. His attorneys argued that the drug had never been used in executions and could be inhumane, and a federal appeals court upheld the state's decision. Those objections to the method were made by his lawyers and are presented here as their argument.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state
Reported by: Oklahoma Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); his attorneys.