Oklahoma judge tells prison staff feeling strain of execution schedule: ‘Suck it up’

State plans to kill 25 prisoners in less than three years but officials had sought to increase gap between executions from 60 to 90 days

An appeals court judge in Oklahoma reportedly told state execution schedulers to suck it up" and man up" after they requested a 90-day period between executions in an effort to combat trauma, accommodate staff shortages and reduce the potential for errors.

The state plans to execute 25 prisoners whose appeals are exhausted in less than three years, about 58% of the inmates on death row in Oklahoma. At a hearing last Tuesday, Judge Gary Lumpkin responded to a request to slow Oklahoma's execution schedule.