After Ohio​’s two-hour attempt­ed exe­cu­tion of Rommel Broom (pic­tured) in 2009, it explored alter­na­tive meth­ods, includ­ing an intra­mus­cu­lar injec­tion of mida­zo­lam and hydro­mor­phone. Gregory Trout, an attor­ney with the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction expressed con­cerns to Dr. Mark Dershwitz, the state’s expert wit­ness on lethal injec­tions, about whether these drugs would result in ​“gasp­ing for air in a hyper­ven­ti­lat­ing fash­ion, with eyes still open,” and whether it ​“would cre­ate the appear­ance, at least, of suf­fer­ing, which would upset wit­ness­es and inspire lit­i­ga­tion.” Dr. Dershwitz said such reac­tions were unlike­ly. However, Dr. Mark Heath, an anes­the­si­ol­o­gist at Columbia University, warned the drugs could cre­ate ​“a ter­ri­ble, ardu­ous, tor­ment­ing exe­cu­tion that is also an ugly visu­al and shame­ful spec­ta­cle.” Ultimately, the drugs were not used intra­mus­cu­lar­ly but rather inject­ed into the veins of Dennis McGuire in January 2014, result­ing in a pro­longed exe­cu­tion in which the pris­on­er strug­gled and clenched his fists for an extend­ed peri­od. The same drugs were used in the recent two-hour exe­cu­tion of Joseph Wood in Arizona. Dr. Dershwitz, who had served as an expert on lethal injec­tion for 22 states and the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment, recent­ly with­drew from fur­ther involve­ment as an expert because Ohio had mis­char­ac­ter­ized him as a ​“con­sul­tant.”

(B. Crair, ​“Exclusive Emails Show Ohio’s Doubts About Lethal Injection,” New Republic, Aug. 17, 2014). See Lethal Injection and Botched Executions.

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