Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 3, 2007 12:31:24 GMT -5
International Herald Tribune
US appeals court declines to review lawsuit over lethal injection
The Associated Press
Friday, June 1, 2007
CINCINNATI: A group of death row inmates on Friday lost another attempt to challenge Ohio's use of lethal injection when a U.S. appeals court declined to hear a case that has effectively placed their executions on hold.
The full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals let stand, without comment, an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel of the court that said an appeal by one of the inmates was filed too late.
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann said in a statement, "I am pleased with the 6th Circuit Court's decision today denying Cooey's request that the full court reconsider the panel's decision."
The lawsuit was filed in 2004 by inmate Richard Cooey, who was sentenced to die for raping and killing two University of Akron students in 1986. The lawsuit, which was later joined by several other inmates, did not seek to reverse Cooey's conviction or sentence but argued the state's use of lethal injection is inhumane.
The Ohio Public Defender's office, which represents Cooey, said it will now seek an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"We believe these issues are strong enough to merit the U.S. Supreme Court's time and attention," said Greg Meyers, the chief counsel to the Ohio Public Defender.
If the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a challenge to the statute of limitations in filing appeals, it would open the door to an evidentiary hearing on the merits of the inmates' claim that Ohio's method of lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment that amounts to torture.
Ohio uses a three-drug cocktail: sodium pentothal, which is a barbiturate; pancuronium bromide, a paralyzing agent; and potassium chloride, which stops the heart.
Opponents say the painkiller can wear off after the paralyzing agent is administered but before the heart-stopping agent is administered, leaving a person in pain but unable to let anybody know.
Meyers said he was not sure how many inmates would be affected if the 6th Circuit's latest decision stands.
Six judges on the 6th Circuit, many of whom oppose any implementation of the death penalty, took an unusual step Friday and criticized the majority's decision not to review the case, which they said will result in simultaneous and contradictory proceedings in state and federal court.
Also Friday, a federal judge in Columbus, Ohio, delayed the upcoming execution of an inmate who was allowed to join the injection lawsuit earlier this year.
US appeals court declines to review lawsuit over lethal injection
The Associated Press
Friday, June 1, 2007
CINCINNATI: A group of death row inmates on Friday lost another attempt to challenge Ohio's use of lethal injection when a U.S. appeals court declined to hear a case that has effectively placed their executions on hold.
The full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals let stand, without comment, an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel of the court that said an appeal by one of the inmates was filed too late.
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann said in a statement, "I am pleased with the 6th Circuit Court's decision today denying Cooey's request that the full court reconsider the panel's decision."
The lawsuit was filed in 2004 by inmate Richard Cooey, who was sentenced to die for raping and killing two University of Akron students in 1986. The lawsuit, which was later joined by several other inmates, did not seek to reverse Cooey's conviction or sentence but argued the state's use of lethal injection is inhumane.
The Ohio Public Defender's office, which represents Cooey, said it will now seek an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"We believe these issues are strong enough to merit the U.S. Supreme Court's time and attention," said Greg Meyers, the chief counsel to the Ohio Public Defender.
If the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a challenge to the statute of limitations in filing appeals, it would open the door to an evidentiary hearing on the merits of the inmates' claim that Ohio's method of lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment that amounts to torture.
Ohio uses a three-drug cocktail: sodium pentothal, which is a barbiturate; pancuronium bromide, a paralyzing agent; and potassium chloride, which stops the heart.
Opponents say the painkiller can wear off after the paralyzing agent is administered but before the heart-stopping agent is administered, leaving a person in pain but unable to let anybody know.
Meyers said he was not sure how many inmates would be affected if the 6th Circuit's latest decision stands.
Six judges on the 6th Circuit, many of whom oppose any implementation of the death penalty, took an unusual step Friday and criticized the majority's decision not to review the case, which they said will result in simultaneous and contradictory proceedings in state and federal court.
Also Friday, a federal judge in Columbus, Ohio, delayed the upcoming execution of an inmate who was allowed to join the injection lawsuit earlier this year.