OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma should keep executions on hold until it can fix its capital punishment system, according to the findings of a report released Tuesday from a commission that's been conducting a review of the state's use of the death penalty.
The 11 members of the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission discussed their final report at the state Capitol.
"Due to the volume and seriousness of the flaws in Oklahoma's capital punishment system, commission members recommend that the moratorium on executions be extended until significant reforms are accomplished," former Democratic Gov. Brad Henry, who co-chaired the group, said in a statement.
Executions have been on hold in Oklahoma for more than two years while the Department of Corrections develops new protocols for carrying out death sentences. Fifteen Oklahoma death-row inmates have exhausted their appeals and are awaiting execution dates.
The commission was formed after Oklahoma's execution process faced increased scrutiny after a series of botched lethal injections. The report's release comes a day after neighboring Arkansas carried out two executions on the same day, part of an original plan to execute eight inmates over an 11-day period.