The first exe­cu­tion under Ohio​’s new lethal injec­tion pro­ce­dure was con­duct­ed on June 3. Questions about the effec­tive­ness of the first of the three drugs used, as well as recent botched exe­cu­tions, have brought Ohio’s pro­ce­dures under scruti­ny. The new pro­ce­dures include a pro­ce­dure for the war­den to pinch the inmate to make sure the first drug works before admin­is­ter­ing the sec­ond, which has been described as excru­ti­at­ing­ly painful . ​“The war­den will call their name, shake their shoul­der a bit and give the upper arm a pinch just to see if he responds,” explained Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Greg Trout. ​“An uncon­scious per­son should­n’t respond. If there is no response, we assume the offend­er is uncon­scious.” Prior to the pro­ce­dure update, prison offi­cials had trou­ble insert­ing shunts to car­ry the drugs dur­ing the exe­cu­tion of two inmates, Christopher Newton in 2007 and Joseph Clark in 2006. Newton’s pro­ce­dure last­ed so long he was giv­en a break to use the restroom; Clark cried out dur­ing his exe­cu­tion that the injec­tion ​“isn’t work­ing.” Ohio defense lawyer Jeffrey Gamso doubts the effec­tive­ness of the new rules. ​“They are still using three drugs. There is no rea­son to use three drugs,” said Gamso, the for­mer legal direc­tor for the Ohio American Civil Liberties Union. ​“Here is what we know about three drugs: two of them serve no pur­pose in get­ting the guy dead … Our expert and the state’s expert have said using three drugs increas­es the risk of caus­ing excru­ci­at­ing pain. So this new pol­i­cy, it’s nib­bling around the edges.”

(R. Fields, ​“Ohio lethal injec­tion exe­cu­tion pro­ce­dures revamped to make sure inmate is sedat­ed,” Plain Dealer News, May 21, 2009). See Lethal Injection and Recent Legislation.

Citation Guide