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Post by thinkinkmesa on Sept 1, 2007 9:30:53 GMT -5
Romell Broom clemency hearing scheduled for September 7: The Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections today scheduled a Sept. 7, clemency hearing for Romell Broom, who has an execution date set for October 18.
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Apr 30, 2009 14:11:07 GMT -5
Death row killer's lawyers target victim's character Posted by Reginald Fields/Plain Dealer April 22, 2009 10:12AM Death row killer's lawyers target victim's character By Reginald Fields Plain Dealer Bureau Tuesday,September 11, 2007 Edition: Final, Section: Metro, Page B10 Columbus - The Ohio Parole Board will tell Gov. Ted Strickland by Friday whether it believes Cleveland death row inmate Romell Broom should live. During a clemency hearing last Friday, Broom's attorneys set out to sully the reputation of the 14-year-old girl he was convicted of raping and murdering to make their claim that Broom doesn't deserve to die. It was a risky move that for different reasons upset the families of Broom and Trina Middleton, the victim. It also drew pointed questions from Parole Board members. Broom, 51, is one of about a dozen condemned prisoners in a lawsuit challenging Ohio's lethal-injection procedures. And though his Oct. 18 execution has been delayed during the suit, the case has unraveled for the inmates and now hinges on an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not decided whether to hear the case. That makes clemency a crucial backup plan, said Broom's attorney Tim Sweeney. Middleton was killed Sept. 21, 1984, after she was abducted at knifepoint about 11:30 p.m. in East Cleveland, where she lived, while two 13-year-old girls she was walking with ran for help. Her body was found three hours later in a nearby parking lot. She had been stabbed seven times and sexually assaulted. Broom was convicted a year later based largely on the eyewitness accounts of the two other girls. The crime happened five months after he had been released from a nine-year prison lock-up for raping a 12-year-old girl in 1975. Broom maintains he did not kill Middleton. During Friday's hearing, his legal team didn't go so far as to say he was innocent of murder, but they seemed to question whether there really had been an abduction and rape - criminal circumstances that triggered the death sentence for the slaying. They introduced dozens of police reports of interviews with other teenagers who knew Middleton that were not disclosed by police or prosecutors during Broom's trial. The reports portrayed Middleton and her two friends that night as being drunk on beer and high on marijuana. Middleton was also said to be sexually active and along with her girlfriends was known to accept rides from strangers. " Romell Brown did not receive a fair trial," Sweeney, of Cleveland, told the board. "If all the evidence was known, he may have still been convicted, but he would have escaped the death sentence." Sweeney was joined by attorneys Adele Shank and Alan Rossman. Rossman was one of Broom's original attorneys. Prosecutors weren't buying it and told the Parole Board that Broom is a cold-blooded killer who has never expressed remorse. "Whatever they were doing, experimenting with their sexuality, they were still innocent of this crime. They were still three little girls," argued Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Jon Oebker, who was assisted by an assistant Ohio attorney general. Oebker blamed the suppression of those reports on East Cleveland police. But he said the documents probably would not have been admissible anyway since many of the claims were based on hearsay and didn't factor in Broom's defense that he wasn't with the girls. Broom's brother, Ray Broom, addressed the board and took issue with prosecutors for withholding the evidence. He said it further solidified his belief that his brother is innocent. Middleton's mother, Bessye, said that Friday was the first she heard of the police reports disparaging her daughter and called the claims "lies." She said Broom's sentence is appropriate. Several members of the seven-person Parole Board questioned Sweeney for bringing up the girl's moral character. But others wondered why the information wasn't available to the defense in 1985 and whether it would have mattered for Broom. blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2009/04/death_row_killers_lawyers_targ.html |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Apr 30, 2009 14:13:46 GMT -5
Parole board votes against clemency for death row inmate from Cleveland Posted by Reginald Fields/Plain Dealer April 22, 2009 10:09AM Parole board votes against clemency for death row inmate from Cleveland By Reginald Fields Plain Dealer Bureau Saturday,September 15, 2007 Edition: Final, Section: Metro, Page B2 Dateline: Columbus The Ohio Parole Board has unanimously voted against offering clemency to Cleveland death row inmate Romell Broom, who police say kidnapped, raped and murdered a 14-year-old Shaw High School girl in 1984. Whether Broom's sentence is commuted to life in prison, as he seeks, rests with Gov. Ted Strickland, who is likely to follow the board's recommendation. Broom's execution date is scheduled for Oct. 18. But Broom, one of 20 Ohio death row inmates who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the state's lethal-injection procedures, has a court-ordered stay of execution while that case is pending. So he probably would not be sent to death next month even if Strickland won't spare him. Broom, 51, was convicted of killing Tryna Middleton after abducting her about 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 21, 1984, from an East Cleveland street, while two other girls she was walking with struggled to get away from the knife-wielding man and ran for help. Tryna's body was found about two hours later and three miles away in Forest Hills Park. She had been stabbed seven times and sexually assaulted. Prosecutors say semen in her body came from Broom, though his attorneys say DNA tests were inconclusive. Tryna's friends picked Broom from a police lineup and later identified the car he used in the abduction. Broom said it was a case of mistaken identity and has maintained his innocence. During a clemency hearing last week, his attorneys, Tim Sweeney and Adele Shank, suggested their client did not get a fair trial in 1985. They showed the seven-member parole board dozens of police reports and other documents of interviews and testimony from other students, which called Tryna's moral character into question. Sweeney did not argue that his client was innocent of murder but did question whether an abduction and rape truly occurred, factors that triggered the death sentence. But in its 16-page clemency report, the parole board said it was "persuaded by the argument of state's counsel that the 'suppressed' evidence is too speculative to support any reasonable probability that the jury's verdict would have been different." The board also said that it found "significant and sufficient similarities" in two other nearby abduction attempts of young girls -- one three days before Tryna was kidnapped and the other three months later -- that Broom was charged with. blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2009/04/parole_board_votes_against_cle.html |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Apr 30, 2009 14:14:42 GMT -5
September execution date set for Cleveland man who raped and killed teen Posted by The Associated Press April 22, 2009 09:48AM COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court has set a September execution date for a man who raped and stabbed a 14-year-old girl more than two decades ago. The court ruled 6-1 Wednesday that Romell Broom of Cleveland should be put to death Sept. 15 for the death of Tryna Middleton. Broom was convicted of abducting the girl at knifepoint on Sept. 21, 1984, raping her and stabbing her seven times. Other Ohio inmates are scheduled to die in June, July and August. The court's announcement comes one day after a federal judge ruled that Ohio's lethal injection process is flawed but constitutional. blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/04/ohio_court_sets_september_exec.html |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jul 31, 2009 1:54:02 GMT -5
CLEVELAND — A death row inmate scheduled for execution in September will get a chance to convince a judge that information discovered after his conviction could have exonerated him. Romell Broom, 53, was sentenced to death in 1985 for the rape and murder of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton. Tryna, a ninth-grader at Shaw High School in East Cleveland, had been walking home with friends from a Friday night football game when she was abducted at knife point and forced into his car. The 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that 165 pages of records from the East Cleveland Police Department can be presented to the original trial court as possible grounds for a new trial. However, it will be up to Broom's legal team to argue in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court that the information could have changed the outcome of his case. The records, which Broom had collected through a public records request in 1994, reveal that Tryna and her two friends had been under the influence of drugs on the night of the murder. They also suggest that the three girls had a habit of taking car rides with strange men and that the person to whom the victim's friends reported the abduction did not initially believe the girls. Broom had asked state and federal courts six times to consider the exculpatory value of the public records. He first filed a petition for post-conviction relief in 1990 and requested the state court stay his case while he tried to collect the information. He finally obtained the records in 1994. But several months later the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a defendant who is seeking a retrial cannot use information obtained through public records requests because he or she would then have more information than prosecutors would be required to share at trial. State and federal appellate courts repeatedly denied Broom's petitions on these grounds and because Broom failed to file in a timely fashion. Thursday, the appellate court ruled that Broom can use the public records because the law allowed their use at the time he received them. A spokesman for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason said the prosecutor's office intends on appealing the case to the Ohio Supreme Court. Broom's attorney, S. Adele Shank, could not be reached for comment. Broom is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 15. His execution -- originally set for October 2007 -- was delayed because he was one of 20 inmates who challenged the constitutionality of the state's lethal-injection procedures. In April, a federal judge ruled that the process is flawed but constitutional. After Broom's clemency hearing in 2007, the parole board said in its 16-page report, that it was "persuaded by the argument of state's counsel that the 'suppressed' evidence is too speculative to support any reasonable probability that the jury's verdict would have been different." Tryna's body was found about two hours after her abduction and three miles away in Forest Hills Park. She had been stabbed seven times and sexually assaulted. Prosecutors say semen in her body came from Broom, though his attorneys say DNA tests were inconclusive. Tryna's friends picked Broom from a police lineup and later identified the car he used in the abduction. Broom said it was a case of mistaken identity and has maintained his innocence. www.cleveland.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/07/death_row_inmate_wins_opportun.html |
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Post by guest on Aug 21, 2009 23:11:46 GMT -5
Romell Broom, East Cleveland teenager's convicted killer, asks Ohio Parole Board to spare him from death sentence COLUMBUS -- Bessye Middleton has waited 25 years to see her daughter's killer put to death. On Thursday, she urged the Ohio Parole Board to get on with it. "It's time for him to go. That's all I got to say," said Middleton, of East Cleveland, during a clemency hearing for death row inmate Romell Broom. "He's got to go." But Broom's attorneys argued their client didn't get a fair trial in 1985 -- the year after 14-year-old Tryna Middleton was abducted at knifepoint, sexually assaulted and stabbed to death -- because East Cleveland police shielded records that may have changed the outcome of the case. They asked the board to recommend that the governor allow Broom, 54, to escape his Sept. 15 execution and have more time to argue his case. "If he would have gotten a fair trial in 1984 we wouldn't be here today," said Broom's attorney Tim Sweeney. "If he was not acquitted, certainly he would not be on death row." This is the second time Broom's case has ticked toward the 11th hour. He had been scheduled to die in October 2007, but he joined an inmate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Ohio's lethal injection method and won a stay of execution. That challenge has since been dismissed. Broom's lawyers are waging a careful defense by questioning the lifestyle of the victim and her friends but trying not to be insensitive about the girl's tragic death. Police records indicated that Middleton and two other teenage girls she was walking with at dark from a high school football game had been drinking beer and smoking marijuana. They were also thought to be sexually active and known to jump in cars with strangers, according to records. Those two friends, Bonita Collier and Tammie Sims, said that Broom also grabbed them that night, Sept. 21, 1984, shortly before midnight. They fought him off while Tryna was dragged away. Tryna's body was found a few hours later in a nearby abandoned parking lot. Broom, who had previously served time for raping a 12-year-old girl, was convicted of the abduction, rape and murder largely based on the testimony of the two other girls. In July, the 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals said that the suppressed police records can be presented to the trial court for a possible new trial for Broom. His attorneys have to convince Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court that the records probably would have changed the outcome of his case. But it is unclear whether Broom's attorneys will get a chance to make that argument before his execution. Matthew Myers, an assistant county prosecutor, told the parole board that he does not believe the records would have changed Broom's conviction or punishment. "I think it is an outrage to blame the victim at this point," Myers told the board. "I think it is a desperate attempt to avoid the inevitable." Bessye Middleton also chided Broom's legal team. "If you had a daughter, would you want me to belittle her as you have my daughter?" Middleton turned to ask Broom attorney Adele Shank. "I know you are an attorney and you have a job to do, but I do not appreciate it." Shank, while later addressing the board, turned to Middleton to apologize for making her feel "like we're picking on Tryna, because that's not our goal here." The parole board will make a recommendation to Gov. Ted Strickland next Friday on Broom's clemency request. Strickland does not have to follow the recommendation. blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/08/romell_broom_east_cleveland_te.html |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Aug 28, 2009 22:27:24 GMT -5
The Ohio Parole Board on Friday unanimously recommended against sparing the life of Romell Broom, who was sentenced to death for abducting, raping and fatally stabbing a 14-year-old East Cleveland girl in 1984. The board, which held a clemency hearing Aug. 20, sent its recommendation to Gov. Ted Strickland. Strickland does not have to follow the recommendation. Broom, 54, is trying to escape his Sept. 15 execution and have more time to argue that he didn't get a fair trial. His attorneys have argued that East Cleveland police shielded records that may have changed the outcome of the case. Prosecutors say he is making a desperate attempt to avoid his death sentence. Tryna Middleton was walking with two friends after a high school football game in 1984 when Broom grabbed them, according to court records. The friends fought him off while Tryna was dragged away. Her body was found a few hours later in a nearby abandoned parking lot. Broom had previously served time for raping a 12-year-old girl. In July, the 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals said that the suppressed police records can be presented to the trial court for a possible new trial for Broom. But his attorneys would have to convince Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court that the records probably would have changed the outcome of his case, and it is unclear whether they will get that chance before his execution. www.cleveland.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/08/man_on_death_row_for_east_clev.html |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Aug 28, 2009 22:37:00 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Sept 4, 2009 21:15:54 GMT -5
Ohio Supreme Court to rule on hearing for inmate September 03, 2009 17:51 EDT COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Ohio Supreme Court says it will determine if a death row inmate should get a hearing to consider whether investigators shielded records that may have changed the outcome of the case. Fifty-three-year-old Romell Broom is scheduled to die by lethal injection Sept. 15 for the rape and stabbing death of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton in Cleveland in 1984. The court on Thursday ordered attorneys to file arguments over the next week. Prosecutors in Cuyahoga County have asked the high court to overturn a lower court's ruling that would allow the hearing. Among the evidence Broom says the state failed to disclose is that Middleton and two witnesses used illegal drugs and had a habit of lying. Prosecutors say a federal judge has already ruled that the evidence would not have made a difference at trial. www.wtte28.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.oh/2cc06b64-www.wtte28.com.shtml |
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Post by guest on Sept 14, 2009 12:03:00 GMT -5
Ohio death row inmate denied clemency Gov. Ted Strickland has denied clemency to a death row inmate who raped and stabbed to death a 14-year-old girl 25 years ago. Strickland's decision Monday follows the recommendation of the Ohio Parole Board regarding 53-year-old Romell Broom. Broom's lethal injection execution is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday. A prisons spokeswoman says he was moved Monday morning from Ohio's death row in Youngstown to the death house in southern Ohio. Broom's attorney Tim Sweeney says he has requested a stay of the execution in both the U.S. District Court in Cleveland and in the U.S. Supreme Court. On Friday, the state Supreme Court refused to allow a hearing to consider whether investigators shielded records at Broom's trial. Broom says the records could have changed the trial's outcome. www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/ohio-death-row-inmate-denied-clemency-298332.html |
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Post by guest on Sept 14, 2009 12:08:20 GMT -5
Ohio death row inmate asks 2 courts for stay An inmate was moved from Ohio's death row to its death house as he awaited decisions about his fate from two courts. A prisons spokeswoman says Romell Broom was transported Monday from the state prison in Youngstown to the prison in Lucasville, where his lethal injection execution is scheduled for Tuesday. Broom kidnapped 14-year-old Tryna Middleton at knifepoint on Sept. 21, 1984, then raped and stabbed her to death. Broom's attorney Tim Sweeney says he has requested stays of the execution in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland and in the U.S. Supreme Court. On Friday, the state Supreme Court refused to allow a hearing to consider whether investigators shielded records at Broom's trial. The 53-year-old Broom says the records could have changed the trial's outcome. www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20090914/UPDATES01/90914005/1052/COMMUNITIES02 |
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Post by guest on Sept 14, 2009 12:17:51 GMT -5
Ohio Supreme Court denies appeal of death-row inmate Romell Broom The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Friday against a death row inmate hoping to escape his execution scheduled for Tuesday. Romell Broom, who was sentenced to death for abducting, raping and fatally stabbing a 14-year-old East Cleveland girl in 1984, had hoped to convince a judge that information discussed after his conviction could have exonerated him of the crimes. The 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals ruled in July that pages of records from the East Cleveland Police Department could be presented to the original trial court as possible grounds for a new trial. But with a 6-1 ruling Friday, the high court reversed the appeals court's decision. One reason for the reversal: Justices felt Broom should have raised the issue in his initial post-conviction petition. Broom was convicted in the death of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton. The ninth-grader at Shaw High School in East Cleveland had been walking home with friends from a Friday night football game when she was abducted at knifepoint and forced into his car. Her body was found about two hours later in Forest Hill Park. Prosecutors say semen in her body came from Broom, though his attorneys say DNA tests were inconclusive. Tryna's friends picked Broom from a police lineup and later identified the car he used in the abduction. Broom said it was a case of mistaken identity and has maintained his innocence. The records Broom wanted to introduce reveal that Tryna and her two friends had been under the influence of drugs on the night of the murder. They also suggest the three girls had a habit of taking car rides with men they didn't know. blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/09/ohio_supreme_court_denies_appe.html |
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Post by guest on Sept 14, 2009 12:54:06 GMT -5
Daughter's rape, killing in 1984 haunts parents It's been 25 years, and the painful memories linger of the day that Bessye Middleton's 14-year-old daughter was raped and stabbed to death. Tryna Middleton was abducted at knifepoint on Sept. 21, 1984, while she was walking home from a Friday night football game with two friends. The man convicted of her murder, Romell Broom, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday. "It's been 25 years, and the pain has gotten a little bit better, but there is not a single day that I don't get up and think about her during some point in the day," said Bessye Middleton, 65. Tryna's father, David Middleton, a retired auto worker, won't drive down the street where his daughter was abducted, and for years, he became nauseated on returning to a home filled with memories. Bessye Middleton will drive down the street where her daughter was taken only when she heads to church on Sundays. On the day of the murder, Broom followed the girls in a slow-moving car. They sensed something wasn't right and turned up a different street to get home, Bessye Middleton said. But Broom, who was familiar with the neighborhood, apparently guessed their detour and was waiting for them. He raped Tryna Middleton and stabbed her seven times, according to the attorney general's office. Broom's preying on girls eventually caught up with him. Three months later, Broom forced an 11-year-old girl into his car, but the victim's mother thwarted his escape by running after the car, which was stuck on ice, and yelling to her daughter to jump out. "The daughter finally jumped out, just about the same time he got some traction on the vehicle, and he actually ran over her leg," said Gary Belluomini, an FBI agent who worked in a white-collar crime unit where Bessye Middleton was a clerk. Two eyewitnesses to the abduction attempt collaborated, one getting the numbers on the car's license plate and the other, the letters. That led to Broom's arrest. He was identified by the girl and her mother and by two eyewitnesses, and, after police recognized the similarities in the cases, by Tryna's girlfriends. The back-to-back identifications helped crack the case, according to retired Cleveland police detective Edward "Buddy" Kovacic. "You connect the dots, and all of a sudden the dots start looking like a square or a triangle. All of a sudden they connect, and that's what happened," he said. Broom, 53, has a criminal record dating to when he was 13, including robbery, car theft and the rape in 1975 of his niece's 12-year-old baby sitter. He served 8 1/2 years of a seven- to 25-year rape sentence and was paroled four months before Tryna was killed. Broom turned down interview requests as his execution date approached, according to the state prison system. The state Parole Board has recommended that Gov. Ted Strickland deny clemency. The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday rejected his request to present evidence he says could have changed the outcome of his trial. Broom has said he was targeted because of his earlier rape conviction and has complained that his attorneys didn't get all the information that police collected. Prosecutors say a federal judge already has ruled that the evidence would not have made a difference at trial. The defense at his 1985 trial said Broom, whose sister had been stabbed to death, dropped out of school in 10th grade and was shaped by a broken family in which he saw his mother beaten by his father. Broom often had to care for his siblings. Broom's mother pleaded with the trial court to spare his life. "He didn't kill your baby. He didn't kill that baby. I swear to God, he didn't kill your baby," his mother, Ella Mae Broom, said after she left the witness stand. Bessye Middleton thinks the time has come. "It's not that you want somebody's life to be taken from them, but he's trying to beat the system," she said in an even tone. "We had to suffer. He's had 25 years longer than her." dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/09/13/z-apoh_deathpenalty_0913.ART_ART_09-13-09_B3_3AF2A5E.html?sid=101 |
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Post by guest on Sept 14, 2009 14:41:04 GMT -5
Strickland denies clemency to Romell Broom; execution scheduled Tuesday for East Cleveland girl's killer
Gov. Ted Strickland declined to grant clemency to a death row inmate scheduled to be executed Tuesday for abducting, raping and fatally stabbing a 14-year-old East Cleveland girl.
Romell Broom, 53, is scheduled to be killed by lethal injection at 10 a.m. at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.
"Based on this review, I concur with the Parole Board's recommendation on this matter and have concluded that executive clemency is not warranted in this case," Strickland said in a news release issued this morning. "We will continue to monitor pending litigation regarding this matter and I will take any additional actions which may be appropriate."
Broom asked for clemency, arguing that he didn't get a fair trial in 1985 -- the year after Tryna Middleton was found dead -- because East Cleveland police shielded records that may have changed the outcome of the case.
In July, the 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals said that the suppressed police records can be presented to the trial court for a possible new trial for Broom. His attorneys have to convince Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court that the records probably would have changed the outcome of his case.
But it appears Broom's attorneys will not get a chance to make that argument before his execution. The Ohio Supreme Court last week reversed the appeals court's decision. The justices felt that Broom should have raised the issue in his initial post-conviction petition.
State prison officials will hold a news conference this afternoon to update plans for Broom's execution.
Tryna Middleton, a ninth-grader at Shaw High School in East Cleveland, had been walking home with friends from a Friday night football game about 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 21, 1984, when she was abducted at knifepoint and forced into a car. Her body was found about two hours later in Forest Hill Park.
Prosecutors say semen in her body came from Broom, though his attorneys say DNA tests were inconclusive. Tryna's friends picked Broom from a police lineup and later identified the car he used in the abduction. Broom said it was a case of mistaken identity and has maintained his innocence.
The records Broom wanted to introduce reveal that Tryna and her two friends had been under the influence of drugs on the night of the murder. They also suggest that the three girls had a habit of taking car rides with men they didn't know.
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Post by guest on Sept 14, 2009 14:42:47 GMT -5
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Post by guest on Sept 17, 2009 13:12:59 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Sept 17, 2009 16:11:52 GMT -5
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Post by guest on Sept 21, 2009 0:12:35 GMT -5
Court temporarily halts 2nd Ohio execution attempt Ohio – A federal judge on Friday temporarily halted an unprecedented second attempt at lethal injection of an inmate who said his execution attempt this week was marred by painful needle sticks into his bone and muscles. U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost issued a temporary restraining order effective for 10 days against the state, preventing a second execution attempt on Romell Broom from going forward as planned Tuesday. Attorneys for the state consented to the request for a delay from Broom's attorneys, who will argue that the pain Broom experienced during the aborted attempt violates a constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 28 on Broom's attorneys' request for a preliminary injunction against the execution. Tim Sweeney, an attorney for Broom, said his client is "relieved," but he noted there is still work to do. "There's still a state that wants to execute Romell Broom even though he's been through this horrific, torturous 2 1/2-hour battle with the executioners on Tuesday, and it's our hope that we can convince the courts that once the state has tried once to execute this man and has failed that they can't try again," he said. Sweeney also filed an application for a stay with the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday in an attempt to get Broom added to an ongoing federal lawsuit against Ohio's lethal injection process. He filed another attempt to get the execution blocked with the Ohio Supreme Court. Sweeney hopes to achieve clemency for Broom, but failing that, he will argue that his client shouldn't be executed until a new procedure can be put in place that ensures there will be no repeat of Tuesday's failed attempt. "Waiting to be executed again is anguishing," Broom said in an affidavit filed in federal district court in Columbus. "It is very stressful to think about the fact that the State of Ohio intends to cause me the same physical pain next week." While the state consented to the delay, the prosecutor in Cuyahoga County — where Broom's crime occurred 25 years ago — opposed it, saying the execution had never begun because the lethal drug cocktail never began flowing into Broom's body. "Broom's allegations of cruel and inhumane treatment are wholly unfounded," Bill Mason said. Broom was convicted in the 1984 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl after abducting her at knifepoint in Cleveland while she was walking home from a football game with friends. Broom was being held Friday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville where inmates are executed, but he will "very shortly" be transported back to the Youngstown prison where most death-row inmates are held, said his other attorney, Adele Shank. A central element of Broom's argument rests on statements made by the U.S. Supreme Court when it upheld Kentucky's lethal injection procedure in an April 2008 ruling. The court said that a "hypothetical situation" involving "a series of aborted attempts" at execution "would present a different case," Sweeney said in his federal court filing. Chief Justice John Roberts suggested at the time that the court will not halt scheduled executions in the future unless "the condemned prisoner establishes that the state's lethal injection protocol creates a demonstrated risk of severe pain." Broom told his attorneys he was pricked as many as 18 times Tuesday as prison staff tried to find a suitable vein. "This is three guys in three years that have had these types of serious problems," said Sweeney, referring to the attempt on Broom and two other executions that were delayed after difficulty finding a suitable vein. "There's a pattern here now in this state." Broom's case marked the first time an execution in Ohio had to be halted and rescheduled for a later date. In 1947, an electrocution attempt of an inmate in Louisiana failed, and he was returned to death row for nearly a year. In an affidavit from Broom that was to be submitted as evidence in the federal district court filing, Broom said officials first tried three separate times to access a suitable vein in the middle of both arms. After the failed six attempts, he said a nurse tried twice to access veins in the left arm. "She must have hit a muscle because the pain made me scream out loud," Broom said. "The male nurse attempted three times to access veins in my right arm. The first time the male nurse successfully accessed a vein in my right arm. He attempted to insert the IV, but he lost it and blood started to run down my right arm. The female nurse left the room. The correction officer asked her if she was OK. She responded, 'No' and walked out. "The death squad lead made a statement to the effect that this was hard on everyone and suggested that they take another break." Officials later tried to find an accessible vein in Broom's feet. During that attempt, Broom said the needle his bone and was very painful. "I screamed," Broom said in the affidavit. Gov. Ted Strickland granted a one-week reprieve to Broom on Tuesday, after execution staff struggled for two hours to find a vein that would not collapse when a saline solution was administered. On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a public records request with the state in an attempt to learn information about the preparation for the first attempt, details about the attempt and information about preparations for the next scheduled attempt. The Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sent Strickland a letter Thursday asking him to place a moratorium on Ohio executions given Tuesday's events. news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090919/ap_on_re_us/us_ohio_execution |
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Post by guest on Sept 21, 2009 0:32:47 GMT -5
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Post by guest on Sept 21, 2009 11:59:09 GMT -5
Ohio inmate back on death row after execution try A condemned killer who faces an unprecedented second attempt at lethal injection is at least temporarily back on death row in Ohio. Defense attorney Tim Sweeney said Monday that inmate Romell (roh-MELL') Broom was moved back to death row at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown on Sunday. U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost has suspended another attempt to put Broom to death and plans a hearing next week on requests for a further delay. Gov. Ted Strickland stopped Broom's execution last Tuesday after about two hours when executioners failed to find a usable vein. Broom wept at one point during the procedure and later complained of the needle painfully poking bone and muscle. www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ju0_UPvEVxUhVLghH9flkDra4lEAD9ARQH4G0 |
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Post by guest on Sept 22, 2009 11:23:02 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Sept 22, 2009 22:04:30 GMT -5
2nd attempt to execute Ohio killer further delayed A federal judge on Tuesday further delayed an unprecedented second attempt to put a condemned rapist and killer to death by lethal injection. U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost's order, which pushes a hearing on the fate of inmate Romell Broom from next week to Nov. 30, was unopposed by the state. It gives the state and Broom's attorneys time to gather more information to argue over trying to execute Broom again for the 1984 rape and murder of a teenage girl he abducted at knifepoint in Cleveland. Gov. Ted Strickland stopped Broom's Sept. 15 execution after about two hours when executioners failed to find a usable vein. No Ohio governor has issued a similar last-minute reprieve since the state resumed executions in 1999. Broom, who said he was stuck with needles as many as 18 times, was seen weeping during the procedure and later complained of painful needle sticks into his bone and muscles. During the execution attempt, he even tried to help the executioners secure his death. He turned over on his left side, slid rubber tubing designed to clarify his veins up his left arm, then began moving the arm up and down while flexing and closing and opening his fingers. The execution team was able to access a vein, but it collapsed when technicians tried to insert saline fluid. Broom then became visibly distressed, turning over on his back and covering his face with his hands while crying. His attorneys have sued in state and federal courts to prevent a second execution attempt, saying it would be cruel and unusual punishment. Executioners claimed they couldn't find a usable vein because Broom had used intravenous drugs in the past. "Medical team having problem maintaining an open vein due to past drug use," said a minute-by-minute log the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction kept during the execution. But Broom's brother questioned the allegation of intravenous drug use. "He did not do drugs," Randall Broom said Tuesday. "I know he smoked a little marijuana. But the hard drugs, no." He said the state shouldn't get a second chance to execute his brother. "It's like double jeopardy," he told The Associated Press. "They couldn't do it. So why should they do it again? They should have did it the first time." Romell Broom, 53, was sentenced to die for the rape and stabbing death of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton. Cuyahoga County prosecutor Bill Mason has called Broom's allegations about cruel and unusual punishment ironic given the nature of his crime. "I am absolutely certain," Mason said last week, "that it was Tryna Middleton that suffered from cruel and unusual punishment." Strickland's decision to stop the execution and grant a one-week reprieve appeared to be unprecedented since capital punishment was declared constitutional and the nation resumed executions in the 1970s. Inmates in several states have experienced delays with the injection of lethal chemicals, but those executions always proceeded the same day. www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ju0_UPvEVxUhVLghH9flkDra4lEAD9ASKU000 |
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Post by guest on Sept 28, 2009 23:46:56 GMT -5
All eyes on Lucasville in next execution attempt Will it fail again? Will there be another last-minute court stay or reprieve ordered by the governor? Or will Ohio move ahead and try to execute Romell Broom for the second time in December? Whatever happens, the attention of death penalty opponents and supporters nationwide is focused on the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville – home to the Death House and 32 executions by lethal injection since 1999. The attempted execution of Romell Broom, 53, on Sept. 15 was the first lethal-injection ever stopped due to problems finding a usable vein. The only other time a U.S. execution failed after the process began was more than 50 years ago when Louisiana tried to electrocute 17-year-old Willie Francis. A 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ordered a second try in the electric chair on May 9, 1947. A plan to try a second time was halted Tuesday by a federal judge after Broom’s attorneys sued the state, saying a repeat attempt would be “cruel and unusual punishment” and “double jeopardy,” prohibited under the U.S. and Ohio Constitution. The 25th anniversary of Broom’s crime was Monday, but the family of 14-year-old Tryna Middletown, abducted at knifepoint, raped and murdered while walking home from a football game, will have to wait at least two more months to find out whether her killer will be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison. U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost on Tuesday rescheduled a hearing planned for Monday until Nov. 30. The state did not contest Frost’s order. Broom was taken back across the state, from Lucasville to the Ohio State Penitentiary – a super-maximum security prison that houses most Death Row inmates in Youngstown – last Sunday. After prison medical staff couldn’t keep a vein open on Broom’s arms and legs so they could hook him up to the tubes carrying lethal chemicals, Gov. Ted Strickland, a former prison psychologist at Lucasville, ordered a week-long reprieve. No Ohio governor has issued a similar last-minute reprieve since the state resumed executions in 1999. Strickland has asked his prison director for recommendations on how to proceed. “They are putting together recommendations for the governor. … There’s not a set deadline,” said Amanda Wurst, Strickland’s spokeswoman. Broom told his attorneys he counted 18 puncture wounds on his arms after emergency medical technicians from Lucasville prison struggled to keep a vein open during two hours of attempts. “The pain, suffering and distress to which Broom was subjected went well beyond that which is tolerated by the United States and Ohio Constitution,” the court complaint says. “It was a form of torture that exposed Broom to the prospect of a slow, lingering death, not the quick and painless one he was promised …” Any repeat attempt is expected to attract heightened protests by those opposed to capital punishment in Ohio and media attention. Sister Alice Gerdeman of Cincinnati, president of Ohioans to Stop Executions, stood outside Lucasville prison Sept. 15, but hopes she doesn’t have to return. “We’re there to be there in support and in prayer with the person who is being executed, with the family members of both the executed and the victims.” Sister Helen Prejean, during a Monday speech at Xavier University, likened Broom’s treatment to torture. Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking” and “The Death of Innocence,” said, “Ohio has become a killing field … When that needle is put in, our hand is on it.” The lethal injection setbacks also sparked national debate among death penalty observers and legal scholars. “No state has said, ‘We have a better method,’•” said Richard Dieter, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C. “There are a lot of issues that could prevent this from happening,” Dieter said. “You may not be able to do it, period.” “Every state has gone to lethal injection as presumably the more humane way,” Dieter said. “What’s at issue here is what’s palatable or acceptable for the guards, the witnesses, the victim’s family members (and) the public.” Theoretically, a firing squad – still offered as an alternative to lethal injection in Utah – works 100 percent of the time, Dieter said, “But whether people want that bloody scene, or electrocution or gas chamber with all that it represents from the past, I doubt it. So lethal injection may be the only real alternative. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be changed. … There will be other executions in Ohio, and some other change may have to be made.’’ In an interview with The Enquirer two days after the failed execution, attorney S. Adele Shank said Broom’s arms “were still swollen and red. There were many, many red welts. … It was very traumatizing for him. His anxiety is high.” Bessye and David Middleton, who witnessed the attempted execution in memory of their daughter, Tryna, have said they want her killer’s execution to proceed. Complaints filed in the U.S. District Court on Sept. 18 name Strickland, state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Terry Collins, Lucasville Warden Phil Kerns and 12 unnamed members of the execution team, prison employees identified as John and Jane Doe. During and after the unsuccessful execution attempt Sept. 15, Collins and his department praised the execution team for its professionalism and compassion while carrying out their legal duties. Collins said Broom was asked if he wanted to take any breaks, but said no. The inmate helped the team locate veins several times, rolling onto his side and massaging his arms. “They are all experienced and trained,” DRC spokeswoman Julie Walburn said of the prison employees who volunteer for execution duty. “We are never 100 percent perfect 100 percent of the time,” Collins said after Strickland ordered the reprieve. “This is an extremely trying time for lots and lots of people.” In a separate development, Shank denied a report that Broom used intravenous drugs before entering prison more than 25 years ago. Prison officials speculated that that would have damaged his veins, making them more vulnerable to collapse. “Romell has told us that he never used IV drugs,” Shank said. Lethal injection experts, including an attorney from the University of California at Berkeley, said Broom’s decision not to take a sedative, an option offered by the state, could have helped raise his anxiety level and helped collapse veins. After convicted killer Joseph Clark experienced some of the same delays in locating veins during his May 2006 execution, the doctor performing his autopsy suggested the prison’s medical team might have lacked technical skills. Dr. L. J. Dragovic, chief medical examiner for Oakland County, Mich., wrote a letter to Clark’s attorney, saying, “The presence of 19 needle puncture wounds is indicative of technical difficulties the execution team encountered during this execution procedure … Multiple injection attempts (to find a vein) suggests inadequate technical skills of the personnel involved in carrying out this procedure.” “It would be cruel to go forward,” Shank said after the failed execution. “His veins would all be injured now.” www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20090926/UPDATES01/90926008 |
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Post by guest on Oct 11, 2009 16:42:33 GMT -5
Romell Broom, 53, on September 15th crossed the corridor of death and then received 18 punctures over three hours, the execution was suspended by the governor, Ted Strickland. SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO Romell Broom against Ted Strickland Scioto COUNTY. STATE OF OHIO Romell Broom AFFIDAVIT: ‘By this, I, Romell Broom, declare and attest that: 1. I am an intern at the death row in Ohio. 2. My execution was scheduled for Tuesday 15 September 2009. The execution was carried out in the Prison South (Southern Correctional Facility, SOCF) in Lucasville, Ohio. 3. Prison officers took me from the Ohio State Penitentiary to SOCF, 14 September 2009. 4. After my arrival, a nurse came to where I was housed, the cell J-1. The nurse arrived, she found two veins in my right arm and my left arm, tied my arm and took note of what she found. 5. After that, prison officials were offering fluids every time. I agreed. During that day I drank coffee, Kool-Aid and water. I took seven cups of coffee, five cups of water and three cups of Kool-Aid. 6. On 15 September 2009, I woke up, showered and talked to my brother on the phone. At one point, the chief enforcement officials told me that one of the court was reviewing my case and that the execution had been delayed in the meantime. Due to the length of the delay, I thought the court would accept my arguments for an appeal. 7. However, around 2, my lawyer informed me that the court had rejected my appeal and that there were no more ways of action. The state would go ahead with my execution. 8. When I was in the cell, the chief officer Phillip Kerns came in with several guards, and I read the execution order. Then came two nurses who told me to lie down. One of the nurses was a white man and the other a white woman. 9. There were three guards in the room. A guard was on my right, another on my left and another at my feet. 10. The nurses tried to simultaneously access the veins in my arms. The nurse tried three times to access the central veins in my left arm. The nurse tried three times to access the central veins in my right arm. 11. After those six attempts, the nurse told me to rest a little. I kept lying in bed for two and half minutes or so. 12. After the break, the nurse tried twice to access the veins of my left arm. He must have clicked a muscle because the pain made me cry. The nurse tried three times to access the veins of my right arm. The first time the nurse got access to a vein in my right arm. He tried to insert the IV, but lost it and started running blood through the arm. The nurse left the room. The prison officer asked if she was okay. She replied: “No,” and left. 13. The enforcement officers testified that it was difficult for everyone and suggested doing another pause. Then it was the nurse. The official who was on my right tapped me on the shoulder and told me to relax as we rested for a moment. At that point, I was very sore. Puncture wounds hurt me and I could not move my arms. 14. The nurse returned with a hot towel placed on her left arm. She put the towels on my arms and massaged my left arm. She said that towels would help them to access the veins. 15. After applying the towels, the nurse tried to access my veins, once in the middle of my left arm and three times more on the left. After the third attempt to access the veins, the nurse said the heroin had damaged my veins. That comment upset me because I have never used heroin and other drugs intravenously. I replied to the nurse that I never had used heroin. 16. The nurse kept saying that the vein was there but could not get it. I tried to work helping to tie my own arm. A prison officer walked over, patted my hand to indicate that he also saw the vein, the nurse tried to help me locate it. 17. The chief enforcement officials said they would do another break and returned to tell me to relax. 18. Then I broke down. I began to mourn because I ached and my arms were swollen. The nurses were clicking needles into areas that were already swollen and bruised. I asked to interrupt the process and asked to speak with my lawyer. 19. The chief enforcement officers asked me to sit for the blood circulate better. Then he entered the room the head nurse, an Asian woman. 20. The head nurse tried to access the veins in my right ankle. She asked that someone gave “a twenty” and someone handed her a needle. During this attempt, she jabbed the needle into the bone and was very painful. I screamed. While the head nurse tried to access a vein in my lower left leg, the nurse tried to access a vein in my right ankle. After those attempts failed, the head nurse took the needle and left the room. 21. The nurse made two attempts to access the veins in my right hand. It seemed they had given up and left arm because it was swollen and bruised. The pain level was at maximum. I had been stung at least 18 times in multiple areas, all intended to inject some drugs going to take my life. 22. The chief enforcement officers returned to tell me to relax. There was talk among officials about the fact that they could see the veins. 23. After a while, the director, Terry Collins, entered the room and told me they were going to suspend the execution. Collins said that he appreciated my cooperation and taking note of my attempts to help the team. He also expressed confidence in the team performance and professionalism. The director told me that Collins would call Governor Strickland to inform of the situation. 24. Officials asked me if I wanted a coffee and a cigarette. I lay in bed with the lights dimmed. 25. About half an hour later, my lawyer, Adele Shank, came and told me that the governor had issued the order to postpone a week. I told to the lawyer Shank of my pain and showed the areas with bruises. 26. After he left, prison officials transferred me to the hospital. 27. The next morning, my arms began to give more signs of bruising and swelling. Each site of the arm which had made an attempt showed visible bruising and swelling. Some of the bruising of the hands and ankle were gone and some of the swelling disappeared over the following afternoon. 28. Even today, my arms have large bruises visible, and still swollen. The multiple sites where the nurses tried to access my veins are aching. 29. Prison officials agreed to keep the SOCF during the week of postponement. During this time, I am constantly under observation of the implementation team and the guards. 30. Expecting to be executed is distressing. I think a lot of tension produced by the State of Ohio has the intent to cause physical pain the same next week. 31. I am compelled to constantly remember that next week I will have to suffer the same torture that I was inflicted by Ohio State on Tuesday, 15 September 2009, because there has been no change in Ohio’s execution protocol and has not been no change in my veins. The witness has nothing more to say. Rommel Broom ‘ Sworn, affirmed and subscribed before me on 17 September 2009. Marcia Dukes, public notary. momento24.com/en/2009/10/11/romell-broom-describes-his-dramatic-experience-with-failed-lethal-injection/ |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Nov 30, 2009 23:32:15 GMT -5
Ruling On Convicted Killer's Execution Expected Monday A hearing was planned for Monday afternoon on the state's plan to execute condemned killer Romell Broom, 10TV News reported. Broom's first execution attempt was halted on Sept. 15 after executioners failed to find a usable vein after two hours of trying. Broom's attorneys are suing to prevent a second execution attempt, arguing it would be cruel and unusual punishment. The state has since changed its execution procedures from a three-drug intravenous lethal injection to a one-drug injection. www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2009/11/30/story-columbus-romell-broom-execution-decision.html?sid=102 |
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Post by guest on Dec 9, 2009 12:03:46 GMT -5
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Post by guest on Dec 9, 2009 12:52:19 GMT -5
Condemned Ohio inmate who survived botched September execution asks judge to stop 2nd try A day after Ohio became the first state in the country to use a single drug in a lethal injection, the condemned killer whose botched September execution prompted the change from a three-drug method is returning to court to argue against another attempt to put him to death. A federal judge said he’d start hearing arguments Wednesday on the case of inmate Romell (roh-MEL’) Broom, who was sentenced to die for raping and killing a teenage girl. The state bungled Broom’s Sept. 15 execution when it couldn’t find a usable vein for injection and wants to try again. His attorneys say that would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. On Tuesday morning at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, killer Kenneth Biros (BY’-rohs) became the first inmate in the country to be executed with one drug. blog.taragana.com/n/condemned-ohio-inmate-who-survived-botched-september-execution-asks-judge-to-stop-2nd-try-241844/ |
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Post by guest on Dec 9, 2009 12:55:36 GMT -5
Ohio killer asks judge to stop 2nd execution try A day after Ohio became the first state in the country to use a single drug in a lethal injection, the condemned killer whose botched September execution prompted the change from a three-drug method returns to court to argue that another try to put him to death would be unconstitutional. A federal judge was to hear arguments beginning Wednesday on whether the state, having bungled inmate Romell Broom's execution Sept. 15, should be prevented on constitutional grounds from a second attempt. Following that execution try, which U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost has labeled a "debacle," the state changed its execution methods to one intravenous drug with a backup method involving intramuscular injection. On Tuesday morning, the state executed killer Kenneth Biros with one dose of thiopental sodium in the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Biros, 51, became the first inmate in the country to be executed with one drug. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Biros' final appeal earlier Tuesday. After the chemical started flowing, Biros' chest heaved several times, and he moved his head twice over a span of about two minutes before lying perfectly still. The mother, sister and brother of Biros' victim, 22-year-old Tami Engstrom, applauded as the warden announced the time of death. "Rock on," the sister, Debi Heiss, had said a moment earlier as the curtains were drawn for the coroner to check on Biros. "That was too easy." Biros killed Engstrom near Warren, in northeastern Ohio, in 1991 after offering to drive her home from a bar, then he scattered her body parts in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Before dying Tuesday, he apologized for his crime. "I'm being paroled to my father in heaven," Biros said. "I will now spend all of my holidays with my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ." The state switched its execution methods with two goals: to end a 5-year-old lawsuit claiming that Ohio's three-drug system was capable of causing severe pain and to create a backup procedure if the first one didn't work. That backup plan, untested on U.S. inmates, allows a two-drug injection into muscle if a usable vein cannot be found. That did not become necessary in Biros' case. The only case similar to the botched Broom execution happened in Louisiana in 1946, when a first attempt to execute Willie Francis did not work. Francis was returned to death row for nearly a year while the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether a second electrocution would be unconstitutional. The court ultimately ruled 5-4 against Francis, and he was put to death in 1947. However, Justice Felix Frankfurter, a swing vote in the court's decision, said a different set of facts could have led to a different decision. Those facts could include "a series of abortive attempts at electrocution," he wrote. Broom, 53, said he was stuck with needles at least 18 times, the pain so intense he cried and screamed out. His attorneys say it would constitute cruel and unusual punishment for the state to try again and would violate Broom's double jeopardy rights, punishing him twice for the same crime. "What happened to Broom on September 15, 2009, at defendants' hands and under their direction was inhuman and barbarous," Broom's attorneys, Timothy Sweeney and Adele Shank, argued after the execution attempt. "It should not be permitted to happen again." Broom was sentenced to die for the rape and slaying of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton after abducting her in Cleveland in September 1984 as she walked home from a Friday night football game with two friends. The state opposes canceling a second try, saying Broom's execution was carried out according to the protocols then in place. "There is no evidence that Broom suffered pain of such severity as to rise to the level of severe pain prohibited by the Eighth Amendment," Assistant Attorney General Charles Wille argued last month. Gov. Ted Strickland stopped Broom's execution and issued a one-week reprieve, which was extended. One of the first issues before Frost is a request by the state to keep Strickland from testifying about his decision. Frost has already had harsh words for the state and its handling of Broom's case. In a ruling Monday that allowed Biros' execution to proceed, he said the state's decision to abandon written protocols during the Broom execution bid was an "incomprehensible step." Frost pointed to the testimony of two execution team members who said they failed to discuss and plan for anticipated problems with accessing veins with Broom. He also highlighted the state's decision to ask a visiting doctor to enter the holding cell and try to help insert a needle. Prisons spokeswomen said they were unaware of a doctor being asked for such assistance in the past and there were no plans to do so in the future. Frost singled out the reaction of a member of the execution team upon discovering the doctor in the holding cell: "And I'm like, 'Dear God, what is she doing here?'" "That is a question," Frost said in his Monday ruling, "that requires an answer." www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ju0_UPvEVxUhVLghH9flkDra4lEAD9CFM16O0 |
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Post by guest on Dec 9, 2009 13:00:52 GMT -5
Judge: Ohio inmate's execution appeal has limits An Ohio inmate fighting the state's second planned attempt to execute him may not have a valid pain-and-suffering claim, a federal judge said Wednesday. Developments in an unrelated death penalty case this week that ended with an execution Tuesday appear to limit what killer Romell Broom can argue about the state's desire to put him to death, U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost said Wednesday. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that death row inmate Kenneth Biros hadn't presented evidence that the state's new backup execution method could cause severe pain in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Biros, 51, was executed Tuesday for killing a woman he met at a bar in 1991. He was the first person put to death in the country with a single drug in a lethal injection. "We all agree that Mr. Broom underwent an execution process that was unsuccessful," Frost said. "We all agree that Mr. Broom suffered some pain from that attempted execution process," the judge said. "We all agree that the state of Ohio intends to proceed again on a second attempt." But Frost said he doesn't know what Broom's lawyers could present about Broom's experience that would overcome the 6th Circuit's ruling. Frost said the appeals court ruling appears to limit Broom to his argument over whether the state has the right to carry out a second execution attempt. Broom, 53, attended the hearing wearing an orange jump suit and shackled at the wrists and feet. Following Broom's execution try on Sept. 15, which Frost has labeled a "debacle," the state changed its execution methods to one intravenous drug with a backup method involving intramuscular injection. Broom said he was stuck with needles at least 18 times, the pain so intense he cried and screamed out. His attorneys say it would constitute cruel and unusual punishment for the state to try again and would violate Broom's double jeopardy rights, punishing him twice for the same crime. "What happened to Broom on September 15, 2009, at defendants' hands and under their direction was inhuman and barbarous," Broom's attorneys, Timothy Sweeney and Adele Shank, argued after the execution attempt. "It should not be permitted to happen again." The state switched its execution methods with two goals: to end a 5-year-old lawsuit claiming that Ohio's three-drug system was capable of causing severe pain and to create a backup procedure if the first one didn't work. That backup plan, untested on U.S. inmates, allows a two-drug injection into muscle if a usable vein cannot be found. That did not become necessary in Biros' case. The only case similar to the botched Broom execution happened in Louisiana in 1946, when a first attempt to execute Willie Francis did not work. Francis was returned to death row for nearly a year while the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether a second electrocution would be unconstitutional. The court ultimately ruled 5-4 against Francis, and he was put to death in 1947. However, Justice Felix Frankfurter, a swing vote in the court's decision, said a different set of facts could have led to a different decision. Those facts could include "a series of abortive attempts at electrocution," he wrote. Broom was sentenced to die for the rape and slaying of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton after abducting her in Cleveland in September 1984 as she walked home from a Friday night football game with two friends. The state opposes canceling a second try, saying Broom's execution was carried out according to the protocols then in place. "There is no evidence that Broom suffered pain of such severity as to rise to the level of severe pain prohibited by the Eighth Amendment," Assistant Attorney General Charles Wille argued last month. Gov. Ted Strickland stopped Broom's execution and issued a one-week reprieve, which was extended. Frost on Wednesday rejected Broom's request to order the governor to testify about that decision. Frost has already had harsh words for the state and its handling of Broom's case. In a ruling Monday that allowed Biros' execution to proceed, he said the state's decision to abandon written protocols during the Broom execution bid was an "incomprehensible step." Frost pointed to the testimony of two execution team members who said they failed to discuss and plan for anticipated problems with accessing veins with Broom. He also highlighted the state's decision to ask a visiting doctor to enter the holding cell and try to help insert a needle. Prisons spokeswomen said they were unaware of a doctor being asked for such assistance in the past and there were no plans to do so in the future. Frost singled out the reaction of a member of the execution team upon discovering the doctor in the holding cell: "And I'm like, 'Dear God, what is she doing here?'" "That is a question," Frost said in his Monday ruling, "that requires an answer." www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ju0_UPvEVxUhVLghH9flkDra4lEAD9CFTIJG0 |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Dec 10, 2009 21:51:43 GMT -5
Judge seeks opinions on 2nd execution attempt He says old method no longer an issue A federal judge in Columbus wants lawyers to provide written opinions about whether the state can try a second time to execute a convicted killer. U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost made it clear in a hearing yesterday that his decision in the case of 53-year-old Romell Broom won't be based on the change in the way the state carries out lethal injections. He said a ruling Monday by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the new method makes questions about the old way -- used unsuccessfully on Broom in September -- irrelevant. "It seems to me that all that's left is a legal argument as to whether the state can attempt to execute Mr. Broom twice," Frost told attorneys for the state and Broom, who was in court wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and shackles on his wrists and ankles. Broom's attorneys had suggested calling witnesses to testify about the suffering he endured in the first attempt, but Frost decided that written statements will be sufficient. Gov. Ted Strickland stopped Broom's Sept. 15 execution after about two hours when executioners repeatedly failed to find a usable vein for a needle that was to be used to kill him with a combination of three drugs. The prison system unveiled a new method -- using a single intravenous dose of a powerful anesthetic -- in November. It was used Tuesday to execute convicted Trumbull County killer Kenneth Biros. The judge said all Death Row inmates who were challenging the old method must amend their complaints if they want to challenge the new one. Broom's lawsuit argues that a second attempt to take his life would violate his Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Frost gave Broom's attorneys until Jan. 8 to file an amended complaint, which would be followed by the state's response. The judge could order a trial. He extended a temporary restraining order that prevents the state from setting an execution date for Broom while the case is being considered. Timothy Sweeney, one of Broom's attorneys, predicted that the next round of legal motions could take as long as four months. Broom was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl he abducted at knifepoint in Cleveland in 1984. www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/10/copy/broom_hearing.ART_ART_12-10-09_B4_7OFUTFS.html?adsec=politics&sid=101 |
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