Post by thinkinkmesa on May 27, 2007 11:50:10 GMT -5
Ohio draws criticism for drawn-out executions
State's lethal-injection process seriously flawed, expert says
Saturday, May 26, 2007 3:24 AM
By Alan Johnson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
With the two most troubled lethal injections in the country on its record, Ohio should scrupulously review or halt executions, a national expert said yesterday.
Deborah Denno, a professor of criminal law at the Fordham University School of Law, concluded that in light of delays in Thursday's execution of Christopher J. Newton, "problems with lethal injection in Ohio have been recurring and only becoming worse."
"The state's protocol revisions, paltry to begin with, are entirely ineffective," she told The Dispatch. "Even when the Department of (Rehabilitation and) Correction is doing what it thinks is its very best, and people know they're being watched, it's not working well."
Newton, 37, died by injection at 11:53 a.m. Thursday after a 90-minute delay in which prison paramedics struggled to attach intravenous lines to begin the flow of deadly chemicals.
Problems also delayed Joseph Clark's execution for an hour last May. Paramedics initially were able to insert a single IV line, but when the vein collapsed, Clark's execution was stopped until new lines were attached.
JoEllen Lyons, spokeswoman for the prison agency, said officials "do not believe that our process was flawed or this was a botched execution." She said the issues in the Newton and Clark executions were very different.
"We believe the process works because we removed the artificial time restraints from those team members which now allows them to take their time and do the job that they're there to do," Lyons said.
Gov. Ted Strickland, who said he saw no reason to change his death-penalty position as a result of Newton's execution, got another clemency case yesterday.
The Ohio Parole Board, in a 6-3 vote, recommended against sparing the life of Clarence Carter. The 45-year-old Cincinnati man is scheduled to be executed July 10 for the savage beating death of his cellmate at the Hamilton County Jail in 1989.
The three dissenting board members said that while there is no doubt that Carter killed Johnny Allen, there are conflicting accounts of how and why the fight started and whether Allen's murder was planned.
Denno, who has studied and written extensively about executions for 15 years, said a variety of problems caused a dozen states to call a moratorium on lethal injection.
She said problems occur in the connecting of IV lines because of the variation in body types and scarred veins of drug users, issues with training of medical personnel, and the appropriate dosage of the three drugs. Ohio does not vary the amount of drugs given, whether the inmate weighs 125 pounds or 265 pounds.
A lawsuit pending before the U.S. Supreme Court questions the constitutionality of the injection process because, critics say, it could render some people paralyzed yet able to feel pain as their respiration and heart are painfully stopped by the drug cocktail.
"We're seeing something very parallel with what happened with electrocution," Denno said. "States are trying to repair this method of execution by tinkering with some aspects of it. It's not working." Denno said there are problems with all forms of execution: hanging, electrocution, the gas chamber and lethal injection.
Only one method -- the firing squad -- is quick, effective, humane and essentially foolproof, she said. However, it is widely viewed as barbaric and is used only in Utah.
ajohnson@dispatch.com
State's lethal-injection process seriously flawed, expert says
Saturday, May 26, 2007 3:24 AM
By Alan Johnson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
With the two most troubled lethal injections in the country on its record, Ohio should scrupulously review or halt executions, a national expert said yesterday.
Deborah Denno, a professor of criminal law at the Fordham University School of Law, concluded that in light of delays in Thursday's execution of Christopher J. Newton, "problems with lethal injection in Ohio have been recurring and only becoming worse."
"The state's protocol revisions, paltry to begin with, are entirely ineffective," she told The Dispatch. "Even when the Department of (Rehabilitation and) Correction is doing what it thinks is its very best, and people know they're being watched, it's not working well."
Newton, 37, died by injection at 11:53 a.m. Thursday after a 90-minute delay in which prison paramedics struggled to attach intravenous lines to begin the flow of deadly chemicals.
Problems also delayed Joseph Clark's execution for an hour last May. Paramedics initially were able to insert a single IV line, but when the vein collapsed, Clark's execution was stopped until new lines were attached.
JoEllen Lyons, spokeswoman for the prison agency, said officials "do not believe that our process was flawed or this was a botched execution." She said the issues in the Newton and Clark executions were very different.
"We believe the process works because we removed the artificial time restraints from those team members which now allows them to take their time and do the job that they're there to do," Lyons said.
Gov. Ted Strickland, who said he saw no reason to change his death-penalty position as a result of Newton's execution, got another clemency case yesterday.
The Ohio Parole Board, in a 6-3 vote, recommended against sparing the life of Clarence Carter. The 45-year-old Cincinnati man is scheduled to be executed July 10 for the savage beating death of his cellmate at the Hamilton County Jail in 1989.
The three dissenting board members said that while there is no doubt that Carter killed Johnny Allen, there are conflicting accounts of how and why the fight started and whether Allen's murder was planned.
Denno, who has studied and written extensively about executions for 15 years, said a variety of problems caused a dozen states to call a moratorium on lethal injection.
She said problems occur in the connecting of IV lines because of the variation in body types and scarred veins of drug users, issues with training of medical personnel, and the appropriate dosage of the three drugs. Ohio does not vary the amount of drugs given, whether the inmate weighs 125 pounds or 265 pounds.
A lawsuit pending before the U.S. Supreme Court questions the constitutionality of the injection process because, critics say, it could render some people paralyzed yet able to feel pain as their respiration and heart are painfully stopped by the drug cocktail.
"We're seeing something very parallel with what happened with electrocution," Denno said. "States are trying to repair this method of execution by tinkering with some aspects of it. It's not working." Denno said there are problems with all forms of execution: hanging, electrocution, the gas chamber and lethal injection.
Only one method -- the firing squad -- is quick, effective, humane and essentially foolproof, she said. However, it is widely viewed as barbaric and is used only in Utah.
ajohnson@dispatch.com