Oklahoma City – In response to the botched execution of Clayton Lockett, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma has issued the below statements and is immediately calling for a full and open investigation into the execution. The ACLU of Oklahoma is also calling for an immediate moratorium on all executions pending the outcome of this investigation and for full and complete transparency regarding the execution process in Oklahoma.

The following is attributable to Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director, ACLU of Oklahoma:

“In Oklahoma’s haste to conduct a science experiment on two men behind a veil of secrecy, our state has disgraced itself before the nation and world. The greatest power any government has over an individual is to take that person’s life. More than any other power, the exercise of the power to kill must be accompanied by due process and transparency. This evening we saw what happens when we allow the government to act in secret at its most powerful moment and the consequences of trading due process for political posturing. This is not about whether these two men are guilty; that is not in dispute. Rather, it comes down to whether we trust the government enough to allow it to kill its citizens, even guilty ones, in a secret process.”

The following is attributable to Brady Henderson, Legal Director, ACLU of Oklahoma:

“We hope that courts will reconsider whether transparency about the drugs used in executions is required as a matter of law. After tonight, there’s no speculation needed to appreciate that there are fundamental failures in our execution process. It is important to remember that the State of Oklahoma continues to deny relatively simple requests from condemned men to find out about the drugs that will be used to kill them. There are serious concerns about the lethal injection process in light of more and more botched executions conducted with questionable drugs from questionable sources, and an Oklahoma law now bars inmates (and everybody else) from finding out important information needed to ensure compliance with the Constitution. In other words, it puts a veil of secrecy over one of the most grave functions of state government–killing its own citizens. If we are to have executions at all, they must not be conducted like hastily thrown together human science experiments.”

Cross-posted from The ACLU of Oklahoma.

Legislation now before the Illinois House of Representatives would give state judges the authority to determine whether or not to try juveniles as adults. Current Illinois laws allow prosecutors to automatically transfer juveniles, suspected of committing serious crimes, to adult court to face criminal charges. The ACLU of Illinois consistently maintains that trying youth in adult court has significant negative effects on public safety. The Daily Journal’s opinion piece by John Maki, of the John Howard Association, points out that the decision to charge a seventeen year old, accused of committing a violent crime, as an adult should be decided in court by a judge considering all the details of the case, rather than in the private offices of prosecutors. Maki sites studies which reveal racial disparities that stem from prosecutors’ application of automatic transfers. He argues that Illinois laws should be amended to give youth offenders the opportunity to:

“[...]tell their story before a judge, who can then weigh the need to protect public safety alongside relevant facts about their lives and then determine whether it's appropriate to try them as a juvenile or an adult.”

Read the entire article via The Kankakee Daily Journal.

By: Chris Tanner

Ten years ago in March, Lisa and I were first in line when Multnomah County issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples. We married immediately in our church, with our ministers, blessed with the presence of friends.

Ten years ago in November, voters approved Measure 36, an amendment to our state constitution denying the freedom to marry to Oregon's same-sex couples. Shortly thereafter, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled our marriage invalid.

Lisa and I took down the framed marriage license from our wall.

Much has changed over the last decade. A majority of Americans now support the freedom to marry, including 55 percent of Oregon voters. In 17 states and D.C., all loving couples can marry, and Oregon now recognizes those out of state marriages. But I still cannot legally marry Lisa in the state we call home.

We want to get married because we have loved and cared for each other for over 30 years; we have raised two wonderful children together; and because marriage is an important milestone for us.

Today, the ACLU is in federal court in Oregon to fight for the principle that no one should be subjected to discrimination merely because of who they are and who they love. Our opponents are trying to slow down or stop the march toward freedom, but the ACLU is there fighting for all of us – and I am proud that Lisa and I are part of this court case fighting for our family. And, though it has been a long journey, history is on our side.
 

Cross posted from The Blog of Rights.