Ohio's Lethal Injection Rules Questioned

[thinkinkmesa]

Ohio's Lethal Injection Rules Questioned

Mon Apr 7, 2008 6:32 am (PDT)

Ohio's Lethal Injection Rules Questioned
The Associated Press
Monday, April 7, 2008; 6:51 AM

ELYRIA, Ohio -- Ohio requires its executions to be carried out "in a
professional, humane, sensitive and dignified manner." But two men
facing murder charges say the state's lethal injection procedure
doesn't give the quick and painless deaths required by state law.

Two anesthesiologists who disagree over whether the drugs could cause
excruciating pain were scheduled to testify Monday at a hearing on
the constitutionality of Ohio's execution method.

Lethal injections are on hold nationally while the U.S. Supreme Court
considers a challenge in a case from Kentucky, which is among the
roughly three dozen states that administer three drugs in succession
to sedate, paralyze and kill prisoners.

The major criticism of the three-drug execution procedure is that if
the executioner administers too little anesthetic or makes mistakes
in injecting it, the inmate could suffer excruciating pain from the
other two drugs.

Difficulties with two executions in recent years, in which the
execution team struggled to find suitable veins in inmates' arms,
brought complaints that the method is unconstitutionally cruel and
unusual. Ohio officials stand by the procedure.

Mark Heath, assistant professor of anesthesiology at Columbia
University, was expected to testify Monday on behalf of defendants
Ronald McCloud and Ruben Rivera. They are accused of separate murders
and could recieve death sentences if convicted.

Jeffrey Gamso, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union
who represents McCloud and Rivera, said Heath would argue that the
state's method "builds in an enormously and unnecessarily high
likelihood of torturing people to death."

The state was expected to counter with expert witness Mark Dershwitz,
an anesthesiologist from Massachusetts, who will testify via video
conference Tuesday.

Ohio has executed 26 inmates since it resumed putting prisoners to
death in 1999.

© 2008 The Associated Press

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[thinkinkmesa]

Hearing Continues Over Lethal Injection
By JOE MILICIA
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 8, 2008; 6:51 AM

ELYRIA, Ohio -- Ohio's lethal injection method was assailed as unfit for even household pets by an anesthesiologist testifying in a case challenging the constitutionality of the procedure.

The three-drug cocktail would cause agonizing pain if the anesthetic isn't properly administered, and the state's procedure for executions doesn't protect against that happening, according to an expert witness hired by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

"The way lethal injection is being done in Ohio does not comport with what is being done for euthanizing of animals," Dr. Mark Heath said Monday. "It falls way below that standard."

The state will get its turn to present an expert on Tuesday, when Dr. Mark Dershwitz, an anesthesiologist from Massachusetts, was expected to testify via video conference that he believes the process is humane.

Heath, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Columbia
University, said it's possible to perform lethal injection on
prisoners in a humane manner, but that Ohio's method falls below the standard for euthanizing household pets.

Heath testified on behalf of Ronald McCloud and Ruben Rivera, who are accused of separate murders and could receive death sentences if convicted. The two men say the state's lethal injection procedure doesn't give the quick and painless deaths required by state law.

In Ohio, difficulties in recent years with two executions, in which
the execution team struggled to find suitable veins in inmates' arms, brought complaints that the method is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. Ohio officials stand by the procedure.

Lethal injections are on hold nationally while the U.S. Supreme Court considers a challenge in a case from Kentucky, which is among the roughly three dozen states, like Ohio, that administer three drugs in succession to sedate, paralyze and kill prisoners.

The major criticism of the three-drug execution procedure is that the inmate could suffer excruciating pain from the final two drugs if the executioner administers too little anesthetic or makes mistakes injecting it.

Heath testified that the design of Ohio's death house, where
executions take place, is problematic because the inmate and the
person administering the drugs are in different rooms separated by a one-way mirror.

Anesthesiologists always administer drugs while standing next to the patient so they can detect if problems occur, such as a leak or a ruptured vein, Heath said. He also warned drugs could go into tissue instead of a vein.

Other problems that could occur include catheters coming out of
veins, kinks in the IV tubing and errors in the mixing of the
anesthetic _ sodium thiopental _ which is sold in powder form.

During a contentious cross examination from Assistant Prosecutor Tony Cillo, Heath testified that he is personally opposed to the death penalty in whatever form it's carried out. Heath, who has testified about lethal injection in 11 states, also said he has not found an acceptable method for lethal injection in any state.

© 2008 The Associated Press

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[thinkinkmesa]

Expert Backs Ohio's Method of Execution

Tue Apr 8, 2008 11:55 pm (PDT)

Expert Backs Ohio's Method of Execution
By JOE MILICIA
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 8, 2008; 6:25 PM

ELYRIA, Ohio -- Ohio's process of execution is not inhumane, and
includes enough anesthetic to knock out an average inmate for two
hours, an expert testified Tuesday.

Dr. Mark Dershwitz was the second anesthesiologist to testify in a
hearing concerning the constitutionality of the state's lethal
injection procedure.

Dershwitz's testimony Tuesday, by video hookup, came a day after
another witness, Dr. Mark Heath, described Ohio's execution method as
unfit for even euthanizing dogs and cats.

Heath was hired by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, the
group challenging the state's methods.

Lethal injections are on hold nationally while the U.S. Supreme Court
considers a challenge in a case from Kentucky, which is among the
roughly three dozen states, like Ohio, that administer three drugs in
succession to sedate, paralyze and kill prisoners.

The major criticism of the three-drug execution procedure is that the
inmate could suffer excruciating pain from the final two drugs if the
executioner administers too little anesthetic or makes mistakes
injecting it.

The three-drug cocktail would cause agonizing pain if the anesthetic
isn't properly administered, and the state's procedure for executions
doesn't protect against that happening, Heath said.

"The way lethal injection is being done in Ohio does not comport with
what is being done for euthanizing of animals," Heath said. "It falls
way below that standard."

But Dershwitz, a member of the faculty at the University of
Massachusetts, discounted concerns that Heath raised about problems
that could arise during the execution, such as a catheter coming loose.

If the catheter comes out, it's unlikely the prisoner would receive
the second and third drugs without receiving the first drug, the
anesthetic sodium thiopental, Dershwitz said.

Heath, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Columbia
University, testified Monday on behalf of Ronald McCloud and Ruben
Rivera, who are accused of separate murders and could receive death
sentences if convicted.

The two men say the lethal injection procedure doesn't give the quick
and painless deaths required by state law.

In Ohio, difficulties in recent years with two executions, in which
the execution team struggled to find suitable veins in inmates' arms,
brought complaints that the method is unconstitutionally cruel and
unusual.

Ohio officials stand by the procedure.

Heath testified that the design of Ohio's death house, where
executions take place, is problematic because the inmate and the
person administering the drugs are in different rooms separated by a
one-way mirror.

Anesthesiologists always administer drugs while standing next to the
patient so they can detect if problems occur, such as a leak or a
ruptured vein, Heath said. He also warned drugs could go into tissue
instead of a vein.

Dershwitz said sending the drugs through several feet of tubing isn't
a concern and that it's unlikely the drugs would leak out. If the
line became kinked, the person operating the syringe would feel
pressure and know there was a problem.

Under cross examination from Rivera's attorney Kreig Brusnahan,
Dershwitz said that the use of the second and third drugs,
pancuronium bromide, which causes paralysis, and potassium chloride,
which stops the heart, do increase the risk of suffering, and that
neither is necessary to kill the inmate.

"I believe a large dose of thiopental, properly administered, could
result in the death of the inmate," he said.

But Dershwitz said the risk of an inmate receiving those drugs
without being properly sedated was slim: "a teeny, tiny fraction of 1
percent."

After Tuesday's hearing, Gregory Trout, chief legal counsel for the
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, accused the ACLU of
Ohio and attorneys representing the defendants of trying to demonize
the people who perform lethal injection in Ohio.

"They're trying to characterize us as casually inflicting pain,"
Trout said.

ACLU attorney Jeffery Gamso said the state's method involves too
great a risk of torturing inmates.

It's unknown when Common Pleas Judge James Burge will make a ruling
in the case. The case will likely end up before the state Supreme
Court with an appeal expected regardless of how he rules.

Ohio has executed 26 inmates since it resumed putting prisoners to
death in 1999.

© 2008 The Associated Press

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