OH - State: Death penalty cases to proceed

[thinkinkmesa]

OH - State: Death penalty cases to proceed

Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:51 am (PDT)
State: Death penalty cases to proceed
April 16, 2008 14:30 EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio's solicitor general says death penalty
cases in Ohio's courts will move forward now that the U.S. Supreme
Court has ruled on a lethal injection case out of Kentucky.

Bill Marshall says the court's decision will make it difficult for a
group of about 20 Ohio inmates to continue arguing that Ohio's lethal
injection procedures violate the constitutional ban on cruel and
unusual punishment. Marshall handles litigation on behalf of the state.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Kentucky's injection
process, which is similar to the one used in Ohio and many other states.

Some legal experts believe the court's decision wasn't definitive and
leaves room for viable cases to be made against lethal injection
procedures in other states.

www.wtte28.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.oh/25d62cd0-www.wtte28.com.shtml

[Guest]

OH - High court lethal injection ruling has 'huge impact'

Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:09 pm (PDT)
High court lethal injection ruling has 'huge impact'

Ohio man has similar case and ruling could get it tossed out.

By Tom Beyerlein
Staff Writer
Thursday, April 17, 2008

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold Kentucky's lethal
injection protocol means nearly two dozen Ohio convicts may soon have
a date with the executioner, Ohio Public Defender Timothy Young said
Wednesday, April 16.

"It has a huge impact," Young told the Dayton Daily News. "The
ultimate reality is, the Supreme Court case clears the way for 20 to
22 inmates on Ohio's death row to have execution dates set." These
are inmates who have exhausted their appeals and, in some cases, have
had clemency hearings.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Wednesday that Kentucky inmates
failed to prove there's a significant risk that improper
administration of the three-drug intravenous cocktail commonly used
in U.S. executions would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. The
drugs render inmates unconscious, paralyze them and stop their hearts.

In a similar case in Ohio, convicted killer Richard Cooey alleged the
first drug could wear off and the inmate could be conscious when the
final, lethal drug was administered, but outward signs of pain would
be masked by the paralytic drug. Twenty-six other condemned Ohio
inmates joined that lawsuit.

The Cooey case also is before the U.S. Supreme Court, but "they could
simply toss it because of the (Kentucky) decision," Young said.

Ohio inmates could have a better chance with the court, however,
because Ohio's lethal injection system has had specific problems,
Young and other attorneys said.

"In Ohio, we have different facts (than in the Kentucky case). We've
had two botched executions, of Joe Clark and Chris Newton," said
Carrie Davis, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union
of Ohio in Cleveland.

"In Clark's case, it took an hour and a half and in the middle of it
he sat up on the gurney and said, 'It's not working.' With Chris
Newton, it took two hours and they had to stop and take a bathroom
break in the middle of it."

Attorneys for the governor's office, the state attorney general's
office and the state prison system are reviewing the Kentucky
decision, said prisons spokeswoman Andrea Carson. There are 184
inmates on Ohio's death row.

No Ohio convict is facing an imminent execution date, said Ohio
Supreme Court spokesman Chris Davey.

www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/oh/ story/news/local/ 2008/04/17/ddn04170 8executions.html?cxtype= rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=16