Dying Oklahoma inmate’s last words stir questions

Jerry Massie, spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, announces the time of death of inmate Charles Warner to the media at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. Warner was executed for the murder and rape of 11-month old Adriana Waller in 1997 in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Jerry Massie, spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, announces the time of death of inmate Charles Warner to the media at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. Warner was executed for the murder and rape of 11-month old Adriana Waller in 1997 in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

By Associated Press January 16, 2015 1 min read

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – An inmate executed in Oklahoma complained about the effects on his body before the lethal drugs were administered.

That has prompted some to question whether he may have exaggerated his symptoms to help his fellow death row inmates’ case.

Charles Warner was executed Thursday for an infant girl’s 1997 slaying. During his last words he said: “It feels like acid.”

The comment came before any of the lethal injection drugs were administered and while he was only receiving a saline drip through an intravenous line.

Warner’s attorney Madeline Cohen says she found the comment “disturbing” and “confusing,” but she doesn’t believe Warner would exaggerate his symptoms.