Just weeks after Ohio strug­gled for more than 90 min­utes to find a suit­able vein in Joseph Clark​’s arm to admin­is­ter lethal injec­tion drugs, the state has decid­ed to imple­ment new reg­u­la­tions aimed at ensur­ing smoother pro­ce­dures dur­ing exe­cu­tions. In a report prompt­ed by prob­lems encoun­tered dur­ing Clark’s exe­cu­tion, Ohio pris­ons Director Terry Collins told Gov. Bob Taft that exe­cu­tion teams will now make every effort to locate two injec­tion sites pri­or to an exe­cu­tion and will use a new method to make sure the veins stay open once entry­ways are found.

The prac­tice of eval­u­at­ing inmates with regard to whether poten­tial injec­tion prob­lems exist and what can be done to reduce their effect on a pend­ing exe­cu­tion will change from a visu­al obser­va­tion to a more direct approach. Under the new rules, defen­dants could face up to three phys­i­cal eval­u­a­tions the night before and the morn­ing of their exe­cu­tion. Prison staff will also be advised that they have no require­ment to com­plete an exe­cu­tion with­in a cer­tain time frame. ​“Our cur­rent prac­tice has cre­at­ed an arti­cial self-imposed time bar­ri­er result­ing in enor­mous pres­sure on the exe­cu­tion team mem­bers. Allowing this expec­ta­tion has caused staff to believe they must act quick­ly, con­tribut­ing to the dif­fi­cul­ty of the task,” Collins’ report stat­ed.

The lethal injec­tion changes are to be in place by July 12, when Ohio is sched­uled to car­ry out the exe­cu­tion of Rocky Barton.

(Associated Press, June 28, 2006). See Ohio Dept of Rehabilitation and Correction: ​“Execution Procedure – Process Review” (June 27, 2006). See Botched Executions and Methods of Execution.

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