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Court stops all scheduled executions in Oklahoma

Posted at 2:23 PM, Oct 02, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-02 15:23:21-04

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma's highest criminal court has agreed to halt three upcoming executions after the state's prison system received the wrong drug for a lethal injection this week.

In a unanimous ruling Friday, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted the state's request and issued indefinite stays of execution for Richard Glossip, Benjamin Cole and John Grant.

COMPLETE COVERAGE of Oklahoma executions

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt requested the stays to give his office time to investigate why the Oklahoma Department of Corrections received the wrong drug just hours before Glossip was scheduled to receive his lethal injection on Wednesday.

RELATED: Governor answers questions about the drug shipment

In its order, the court asked Pruitt's office to continue to provide the justices updates on any changes to the execution protocol through status reports every 30 days.

HISTORY of the death penalty in Oklahoma

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