Mcalester, Okla. — A man who killed his young cellmate nearly 10 years ago has been executed with a drug combination that includes a sedative commonly used to euthanize animals.
John David Duty was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.
His execution marked the first time the state of Oklahoma used the anesthetic pentobarbital instead of sodium thiopental. Officials made the change because of a nationwide shortage of sodium thiopental.
Duty was sentenced to die for strangling 22-year-old Curtis Wise in the disciplinary unit at the prison. Court records say Duty had persuaded Wise to pretend to be his hostage so Duty could be transferred to administrative segregation.
After Duty bound Wise's hands behind him, he strangled the man.
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