Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- lethal injection
- Death penalty - December 7, 1982: Texas performs first lethal injection
- Death penalty - July 2, 1976: U.S. Supreme Court reaffirms constitutionality of death penalty
- Death penalty - January 17, 1977: Gary Gilmore becomes the first person to be executed in the United States in 10 years
- electrocution
Why did Oklahoma adopt lethal injection in 1977?
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capital punishment
Lethal-injection room.
In 1977, the U.S. state of Oklahoma became the first to adopt lethal injection as a method of execution. The state legislature approved the procedure after it was proposed by medical examiner Jay Chapman, who designed a three-drug protocol intended to be a more humane and cost-effective alternative to existing methods like electrocution or the use of lethal gas.12