Obama calls for death penalty review
May 03, 2014  12:45

US President Barack Obama plans to ask Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate problems surrounding the application of the death penalty. The US leader's announcement comes just days after a botched execution in Oklahoma drew widespread attention.

 

Mr Obama called inmate Clayton Lockett's prolonged death earlier this week from an improperly delivered lethal injection "deeply troubling". The president said he has conflicting feelings regarding the death penalty. "This situation in Oklahoma I think just highlights some of the significant problems," Mr Obama told reporters.

 

Americans should "ask ourselves some difficult and profound questions around these issues", he added. Mr Obama, trained as a lawyer, said the death penalty is warranted in some cases - including child and mass murder - but its application in the US is problematic.

 

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