Top AP Oklahoma stories of 2014: botched execution, gay marriage

A botched execution that prompted the state to impose its own moratorium and renewed questions over the nation's use of the death penalty has been selected as Oklahoma's top story of 2014.

Court action legalizing gay marriage in the state was voted second by Associated Press-member broadcasters and newspaper editors. A workplace beheading in Moore was voted third.

In 2013, deadly storms in Moore and Oklahoma City were voted as the state's top story. A tornado in Moore killed 24, including seven school children.

The top 10 stories in 2014:

1. Oklahoma executions

Clayton Lockett was put to death on April 29, but the method of execution did not go as planned. A poorly placed intravenous line left executioners questioning how much of three drugs entered Lockett's system and witnesses weren't sure whether his writhing and mumbling meant he was conscious when given drugs to stop his heart and breathing.

A state review uncovered a number of problems, including a lack of training and contingency plans. The Department of Corrections said it would address the shortcomings.

"If I am assured as governor that those protocols are in place ... then we can look forward to returning to executions. But until all of those protocols have been put in place, we won't be having executions," Fallin said after a report was released in September.

The state is set to resume executions Jan. 15.

2. Gay marriage

The U.S. Supreme Court in October refused to consider appeals from five states — including Oklahoma — hoping to retain bans on same-sex marriages. Among the first couples to be married in the state were Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin, who had sued Oklahoma shortly after voters approved a ban in 2004.

"It is a great day to be gay in Oklahoma," Baldwin said the ceremony. "It's an even better day to be married."

3. Workplace beheading

Police say Alton Nolen beheaded a co-worker after being suspended from his job at a Moore food plant. The attack came after highly publicized beheadings in the Middle East, but investigators said that despite Nolen's "infatuation," the attack appeared more likely related to being disciplined at work.

The prosecutor said he intends to seek the death penalty. A second woman was injured in the attack.

4. Law officers charged

A number of law officers in the state were accused of sexually assaulting women while on the job.

Oklahoma City officer Daniel Holtzclaw faces 36 charges, including six counts of first-degree rape. Thirteen women said they complied with demands for sexual favors because they feared being taken to jail. Hotlzclaw has pleaded not guilty.

Complaints were also filed in separate cases against a state trooper and a sheriff's deputy.

5. School woes

Oklahoma legislators dropped Common Core school standards and returned to academic guidelines that were in place at the start of the decade. The move cost the state flexibility over some federal funding until educators assured the U.S. Department of Education that the guidelines would make students ready for college or a career.

Voters turned Schools Superintendent Janet Barresi out of her job. During her tenure, the state used an A-F grading system for schools and administered high-stakes tests to third-graders.

6. Durant wins MVP

Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder was named the NBA's most valuable player for the 2013-14 season. In an emotional tribute, he thanked his mother, Wanda Pratt, for her sacrifices as he and his brother grew up in Washington, D.C.

7. Hobby Lobby lawsuit

Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby argued successfully to the U.S. Supreme Court that closely held corporations can hold religious views. Justices said the company did not have to comply with a part of the nation's new health care law that requires contraception coverage. Hobby Lobby's owners, citing religious grounds, objected to providing certain forms of contraception to employees, saying they were tantamount to abortion.

8. Earthquakes

Thousands of earthquakes, most of them tiny, annoyed people in a large part of central and north-central Oklahoma. Hundreds of residents turned out in June for a public hearing wanting to know whether the quakes are tied to oil and gas drilling.

At midyear, nearly half the nation's temblors of magnitude 3 or greater were centered in or around Oklahoma.

9. Coburn resigns

Sen. Tom Coburn's decision to resign with two years left in his term set off a number of moves within Oklahoma politics. Rep. James Lankford was elected to replace Coburn in the U.S. Senate. Lankford defeated T.W. Shannon in the GOP primary after Shannon gave up his post as speaker of the Oklahoma House.

10. Immigrants at Fort Sill

Fort Sill hosted 1,800 immigrant children during the summer after an influx overwhelmed shelters near the border. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services used the southwestern Oklahoma fort as a temporary accommodation for unaccompanied immigrant children until they could be placed with families or moved elsewhere.

By Kelly P. Kissel, Associated Press. Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – December 31, 2014 @ 6pm