Judge says Oklahoma can proceed with 5 lethal injections

OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled Monday the state can move forward with scheduled lethal injections for five death row inmates, including Julius Jones, whose case has drawn international attention and who is scheduled to die on Nov. 28. Judge Stephen Friot denied a motion for a preliminary injunction sought by the five inmates, paving the way for the state to proceed with seven lethal injections scheduled over the next six months. Grant, Jones and three other death row inmates were removed from a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s three-drug lethal injection protocol because none of the five offered an alternative method of execution. Twenty-six of the 32 Oklahoma death row inmates who were on the original challenge provided the court with an alternative method of execution, including the use of different drug combinations or firing squad.