Who was John Grant and why was he executed?

JOHN Grant made headlines back in 1998 after he was convicted of murdering a prison guard.

In October 2021, Grant then made headlines again after his execution was carried out in Oklahoma.

Who was John Grant and why was he executed?

Grant, 60, was a convicted murderer and was known as the first inmate since 2015 to be sentenced to death by lethal injection in Oklahoma.

In 1998, Grant was accused of killing prison worker Gay Carter while serving sentences for four armed robberies.

He was later tried and convicted of the murder of Carter, who was stabbed 16 times inside a broom closet.

After being convicted of first-degree murder he was sentenced to death and has been on death row since 2000 until ultimately getting executed on October 28, 2021.

Why was his execution halted?

On October 27, 2021, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver announced a temporary halt on Grant's execution along with fellow death row inmate Julius Jones, 41, who was scheduled to be executed on November 18.

The decision came after both Grant and Jones challenged the state's lethal injection protocol and refused to choose another form of execution, citing religious reasons, claiming it would be considered "suicide" to choose.

However, the decision was then overturned the next day by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-3 decision.

“Executions will go forward in Oklahoma despite significant questions regarding the constitutionality of the state’s execution protocol," attorney Dale Baich said, via .

"The district court ordered a trial to determine whether the protocol creates an unconstitutional risk of excessive pain and suffering, yet the Supreme Court will allow Oklahoma to execute Mr. Grant with that protocol.”

While Grant was executed at 4pm local time, Jones, who was convicted of the 1999 fatal shooting of Paul Howell, still could avoid execution.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is scheduled to meet on Monday, November 1, to consider his clemency request.

Did John Grant file a federal lawsuit?

Grant, Jones and 30 other death row inmates were part of a federal lawsuit challenging Oklahoma's lethal injection protocols, however, they were removed along with three others by U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot after they did not choose an alternative method of execution.

The lawsuit proposes alternative methods, including implementing new drug combinations or using a firing squad, which is one of the multiple execution methods still authorized under Oklahoma law.

Their current method, is a three-drug lethal injection protocol, including the drugs midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride.

The lead plaintiff on the case is Richard Glossip, who was just hours away from being executed in 2015 when it was discovered the prison had received the wrong lethal drug, promoting lethal injections to be put on hold in the state until the Attorney General resumed them in February 2020.

The pause came after an inmate in 2015 was executed using the wrong dugs and another inmate, Clayton Lockett, struggled on a gurney in what was called a botched execution using their three-drug lethal injection combination the year prior.