The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from Romell Broom (pictured), whose execution was halted in 2009 after correctional officers spent two hours trying to insert an IV for a lethal injection. Broom was pricked 18 times during the attempted execution. The court will decide whether further attempts to execute Broom would violate double-jeopardy rules or the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. “Romell Broom has a constitutional right not to be subjected to more than one execution attempt under the circumstances present in this case including the fact that significant psychological and physical pain have already been inflicted on him in a first attempt,” his lawyers said. A federal judge recently suspended all executions in Ohio until at least August 15, 2014, in order to allow a review of the state’s new execution protocol. The protocol was changed after the botched execution of Dennis McGuire in January.

(T. Connor, “Top Court Will Hear Romell Broom’s Execution Do-Over Appeal,” NBC News, June 3, 2014.) See Lethal Injection.

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