U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost found con­tin­ued prob­lems with the way Ohio exe­cutes inmates, but nev­er­the­less upheld the state’s excu­tion process. In a 159-page rul­ing on a com­plaint brought by death row inmate Kenneth Biros, Frost said that it is pos­si­ble fur­ther evi­dence could demon­strate that the state’s process con­sti­tutes cru­el and unusu­al pun­ish­ment. He found prob­lems with both Ohio’s writ­ten pro­to­cols and the train­ing the state pro­vides the exe­cu­tion team. ​“Ohio’s method of exe­cu­tion by lethal injec­tion is a sys­tem replete with inher­ent flaws that raise pro­found con­cerns and present unnec­es­sary risks,” Frost wrote, ​“even if it appears unlike­ly that Biros will demon­strate that those risks rise to the lev­el of vio­lat­ing the United States Constitution.”

(Associated Press, ​“Judge lifts Ohio Execution Delay,” Newark Advocate, April 22, 2009). See Lethal Injection.

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