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Oklahoma Raises Pay for Execution Doctors From $300 to $15,000 Per Execution, Still Won’t Say Who They Are or What They Do
by Matt Clarke
Before Oklahoma killed prisoners Donald Grant and Gilbert Postelle in early 2022 [See: PLN, May 2022, p.60], the state told a federal court hearing a challenge to their executions that a doctor would be on-hand at each killing for a fee of $15,000.
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More from this issue:
- Cages Without Bars Are Widening the Net: The Explosion of Electronic Monitoring, by James Kilgore, Brian Dolinar
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Amended Consent Decree Entered in 11-Year-Old Class-Action Challenging Prisoner Healthcare in Illinois DOC, by Douglas Ankney
- Hawaii Inmate Deaths Are The Highest In 10 Years. But The State Can’t Say Why Corrections officials still aren’t providing a cause of death for 20 of the 23 prisoners who died in Hawaii prisons and jails last year., by Kevin Dayton
- Minnesota Department of Corrections Searching for Tattooist for New Prison Program, by Jacob Barrett
- Arizona Prisoners Win Preliminary Injunctions Requiring Centurion To Treat Them, by David Reutter
- Florida Arrests Ex-Felons for Voter Fraud, by David Reutter
- Music Stops in Fifth Circuit’s Qualified Immunity ‘Dance,’ Leaving Plaintiffs With Shortened Discovery Period, by Matthew Clarke
- Plastic Surgery Has a Troubled History Inside Prisons. Some Advocates Want It to Make a Comeback. Should cosmetic procedures be part of how society prepares prisoners to reenter it?, by Zara Stone
- Louisville Jail Counts 12 Deaths in Ten Months, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Third Circuit Agrees With Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Access-to-Courts Claim, But Grants Defendants Qualified Immunity, by David Reutter
- Rhode Island Prisoners Go on Hunger Strike, Staff Denies It, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- $3 Million From Forsyth County, No Stay in Civil Case Against Wellpath Nurse Indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter of N.C. Jail Detainee, by Eike Blohm, MD
- California City Ends Private Jail Operator’s Contract After Mass Employee Resignations, by Keith Sanders
- Eighth Circuit Revives Missouri Prisoner’s Claim Against Prison Food Manager for Denying Renal Diet, by David Reutter
- Nevada Muslim Prisoner Wins Suit Over Denial of Jumu’ah Prayer, by Harold Hempstead
- Guards Fleeing Texas Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- ‘Qualified Immunity Cannot Shield Them’: Fourth Circuit Advances Suit by Virginia Prisoners for Overlong Solitary Confinement, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- California Prison Guards Sentenced for Assaulting Prisoners, by Jacob Barrett
- Eleventh Circuit Says Passover Sign-Up Requirement in Florida Jail Passes Constitutional Muster, by David Reutter
- Ohio Supreme Court Grants Records but No Damages for Prisoner Making Request, by Jacob Barrett
- Will Overturning Roe v. Wade Kill the Right to Abortion Under BOP Policy?, by Dale Chappell
- California Guards Kill Two Prisoners Who Attacked a Third, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Second Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Wardens Accused of Violating Religious Freedom of Muslim Prisoners in Connecticut, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Prisoner Health Update: MRSA Infections, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Idaho Cancels Execution Because It Cannot Obtain Lethal Injection Drugs, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Arizona Jail Racks Up Four Deaths And Two Escapes In Less Than Two Months, by Chuck Sharman
- BOP Settles for $4.18 Million With Six Prisoners Raped by Guard at Now-Shuttered Manhattan Federal Jail, by Casey Bastian
- Fifth Circuit Holds PLRA’s ‘Three-Strikes’ Provision Does Not Apply to Actions Removed From State Court, by Matthew Clarke
- Ohio Pays $185,000 to State Prisoner Bitten in Genitals by K-9, by Keith Sanders
- Incarceration Exacerbates Obesity in America, by Keith Sanders
- Former Felons Elected to Rhode Island Legislature, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Investor Lawsuit Against GEO Group Trimmed, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge in South Carolina Holds BOP Liable for Delayed Treatment That Left Federal Prisoner Partially Blinded, by Casey Bastian
- $450,000 Settlement to Illinois Prisoner Whose Untreated Boil Left Him Paraplegic, by Harold Hempstead
- California Prison Officials Cleared After Prisoner Murders Two Sex Offenders, by David Reutter
- $3.5 Million Paid To Estate Of Iowa Jail Detainee Who Suffered Seizure And Died When Left Unattended, by Keith Sanders
- New Connecticut Law Restricts Use of Solitary Confinement, by Keith Sanders, David Reutter
- Daughter of Condemned Missouri Prisoner Unsuccessfully Sues to Witness His Execution, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Former South Carolina Sheriff Begins 46-Month Prison Term for Corruption, by Ashleigh Dye
- ‘Tragic and Wholly Unacceptable’ Gang Violence Erupts at Georgia Women’s Prison, by Jenifer Lockwood
- Virginia Swipes Sentence Credits From 560 Prisoners Just About to Get Out, by David Reutter
- Georgia Prisoner Sentenced to Death for Killing Two Guards Dies by Apparent Suicide, by Keith Sanders
- GEO Group Gets Another Extension to Biden’s Deadline for USMS at California Prison, by Jenifer Lockwood
- UCLA Study Finds Over Half of ‘Natural’ Deaths Inside L.A. County Jails Showed Signs of Physical Harm, by Keith Sanders
- Ex-Prisoner Re-Elected to New York State Assembly, by Keith Sanders
- Over $237,000 Awarded in Wisconsin Prisoner’s Suit Accusing Guard of Unwanted Sexual Advances, by Kevin Bliss
- Fifth Circuit: Martinez Report May Not Override Factual Allegations in Prisoner’s Complaint, by Matthew Clarke
- Potentially Fatal Legionella Bacteria Found at Six Illinois Prisons, by Casey Bastian
- OIG Report Defers Claims That ICE Detainees in Georgia Had Forced Hysterectomies, by Ashleigh Dye
- Second Circuit: N.Y. Detainee Didn’t Fail to Exhaust Administrative Remedies When Jail Grievance Procedure Excluded Matter Forming Basis of Claim, by Matthew Clarke
- ‘Time for Me to Go’: Troubled Oklahoma Jail Loses Administrator, by Matthew Clarke
- Mississippi Demands $1.9 Million From MTC For Short-Staffing Private State Prison, by Kevin Bliss
- Oklahoma Raises Pay for Execution Doctors From $300 to $15,000 Per Execution, Still Won’t Say Who They Are or What They Do, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Sues Wyoming Jail for Unlawful Censorship, by Douglas Ankney
- Mississippi Reopens Walnut Grove Prison Just in Time for Prison Population Explosion, by Harold Hempstead
- $115,000 Settlement for Excessive Pepper-Spraying of Maine Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Florida Supreme Court: Trial Courts Have Authority to Correct Sentencing Errors, But Subject to Time Limits, by David Reutter
- ACLU Accepts $37,500 Settlement Over Redacted Records From New Mexico Prison Healthcare Provider, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Massive Price Tags and Meager Results: The Legacy of Federal Monitors in New York City, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Corrections Board Seeks to Join California Justice Department Juvenile Halls Lawsuit, July 1, 2026. Classification, Conditions of Confinement, Guards/Staff, Discretionary/Inherent Powers, Prison Regulations.
- Pennsylvania Bungles Management at George W. Hill Prison after Taking Back Control from GEO Group, July 1, 2026. Classification, Retaliation, Conditions of Confinement, Guards/Staff, Prison Regulations.
- North Carolina Prison Closing Due to Short Staffing, June 1, 2026. Transfers, Staffing, Guards/Staff.
- North Carolina Prisons Are Facing a “Dire” Staffing Crisis, March 1, 2026. Staffing, Lockdowns, Guards/Staff.
- New York Governor Pulls Plug on Prison Watchdog Funding, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Prison Reform, Conditions of Confinement, Guards/Staff, State Legislation.
- Alaska’s DOC Was $24 Million Over-Budget Last Year, Spent Most on Overtime, March 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Staffing, Guards/Staff.
- New Hampshire Prison System Struggles to Hire Guards, Feb. 1, 2026. Staffing, Lockdowns, Guards/Staff.
- Deportation of Kenyan Priest Working as Texas Prison Guard Highlights TDCJ’s Dependence on Immigrant Staff, Feb. 1, 2026. Staffing, Exposure to Heat, Guards/Staff, Deportation/Removal/Exclusion, Detention - Generally.
- Brooklyn Jail Guard Convicted for Shooting and Car Chase, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Shootings, Guards/Staff, Wrongful Use of Force, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Body-Worn Camera Program for Guards Expands to all Maryland Prisons, Nov. 1, 2025. Videotaping, Security Systems, Guards/Staff, Staff Training, State Legislation.

