# Oklahoma & the death penalty

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oklahoma-the-death-penalty/1815>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 6, 1999, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oklahoma-the-death-penalty/1815 "1999-07-06T02:06:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 1999, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oklahoma-the-death-penalty/1815/1 "1999-07-06T02:06:00Z")

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I just watched tonight 7/5/99 on A&E’s Investigative Reports the story of Sean Richard Sellers who was convicted of a killing three people and given the death penalty. After the lethal injection was carried out, by law, Oklahoma requires an autopsy. His body was taken to a local hospital and examined and the cause of death was labeled a homicide. Now, this perplexes me.

Why homocide? Wouldn’t they (the law and technically speaking) by law have to open an investigation to arrest this man’s killer and put him/her on trial and call in witnesses, the ones who watched him die? Why not have on the coroners report for Cause of Death: Lethal Injection administed by the Public or Halls of Justice , or something similar.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 1999, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oklahoma-the-death-penalty/1815/2 "1999-07-06T02:27:00Z")

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Shirley:

Homicide is any killing of one human being by another; murder is the unlawful killing of one human being by another. Thus, the executioner is employed to engage in an act of homicide, not murder. Because this particular act of homicide was lawful, no arrest is required.

Cheers!  
-Chip

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 1999, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oklahoma-the-death-penalty/1815/3 "1999-07-06T03:37:00Z")

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Chip, you are a veritable font of information. Thank you.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 1999, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oklahoma-the-death-penalty/1815/4 "1999-07-06T04:15:00Z")

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Any time, Shirley.