Rounds Execution Stay

Sioux City Journal:

Oklahoma has executed 83 people since 1990 using three drugs, despite having a law that has the same two-drug requirement as South Dakota.

The latest execution in Oklahoma was Tuesday -- the same day Gov. Mike Rounds delayed the lethal injection death of Elijah Page, saying the conflict between law and practice created liability concerns.

"No one's raised that issue here," Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie told the Rapid City Journal.

North Carolina also has a two-drug law. But in 2003 the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld executions using three drugs, ruling the Legislature did not intend to limit the number of drugs used.