Drop Corrections Board From Lethal Injection Suit, Oklahoma Argues

Attorneys representing the state in a lawsuit over Oklahoma's lethal injection procedures are again asking a federal judge to dismiss the Board of Corrections from the complaint, along with any other death row inmate who does not have a pending execution date.

In court papers filed Wednesday, attorneys for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections argued the corrections board shouldn't be named in the lawsuit, saying it's not a separate entity. The filing comes in a lawsuit filed by 21 Oklahoma death row inmates who sued after the April execution of Clayton Lockett. Gov. Mary Fallin has ordered a review into the state's execution procedures, and it remains pending.

The state also argues that it would be "imprudent and inefficient" to move forward in the case before the review is finished.