The White House has said that the botched execution of Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett was not carried out humanely.
Lockett was supposed to be executed by lethal injection Tuesday night. However, a doctor called the execution off after he believed the lethal injection was not working correctly. Then, 43 minutes later, Lockett died of a heart attack. Charles Warner was also supposed to be executed later that night, but his execution has been rescheduled for May 13.
While speaking to the press, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that President Barack Obama believes that executions should be carried out humanely “and I think everyone would recognize that this case fell short of that standard,” reports The Chicago Tribune.
According to Voice of America, Carney said that the president doesn’t think that the death penalty is an effective way to stop crime. However, there are some crimes that do deserve the death penalty as punishment and Lockett’s case did merit the sentence.
Lockett, 38, was convicted of first-degree murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery in connection with a 1999 crime spree.