This story is free to read.

Doctor says Oklahoma inmate suffered in execution

File - This Oct. 9, 2014 file photo, shows an arm restraint on the gurney in the the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. Attorneys for 21 death row inmates who will be in a federal court this week challenging Oklahoma's lethal injection procedure outlined their strategy in court documents that reveal grisly new details in the botched execution of an inmate in April, 2014. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) File - This Oct. 9, 2014 file photo, shows an arm restraint on the gurney in the the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. Attorneys for 21 death row inmates who will be in a federal court this week challenging Oklahoma's lethal injection procedure outlined their strategy in court documents that reveal grisly new details in the botched execution of an inmate in April, 2014. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

By Associated Press December 17, 2014 1 min read

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A doctor who examined the body of an Oklahoma inmate who died during a botched execution says he is convinced the man suffered after being declared unconscious.

A pathologist hired by the inmate’s lawyer told a federal judge Wednesday that recently released witness statements corroborate his belief that Clayton Lockett was conscious when given drugs to stop his heart and breathing. A witness for the state said it didn’t appear Lockett was uncomfortable or suffering.

Oklahoma is set to resume executions Jan. 15. Death row inmates fear the state is conducting human experiments on them through newly approved drug combinations and are seeking assurances that they won’t suffer.

Lockett struggled, mumbled and lifted his head after receiving a new lethal injection formula April 29. His death prompted a state moratorium.