News
Exclusive Emails Show Ohio’s Doubts About Lethal Injection
The state worried new drugs could make prisoners “gasp” and “hyperventilate”—and used them anyway.
Expert doctor testifies on McGuire Execution: “This was not a humane execution.”
An expert is now testifying that Mr. McGuire did in fact suffer from the lethal injection process that was carried out for his execution. Read the whole affidavit here, the Columbus Dispatch reporting on it here, and see excerpts of the affidavit below. Despite arguments that Dennis McGuire would experience agony and suffering due to the lethal injection […]
Judge: No More Ohio Executions This Year
A federal judge has extended a months-long moratorium on executions in Ohio into next year as questions mount about the effectiveness of a new, two-drug combination being used to carry out the death penalty.
The Case Against the Death Penalty — From the Right (NYT Op-ed)
After two botched executions in the United States, the debate over capital punishment has been rekindled — but now with a focus on the cost and effectiveness of the method used to carry it out rather than on its moral legitimacy.
Akron Beacon Journal Editorial: Put death on hold
The state already faces a moratorium on its executions, set by federal Judge Gregory Frost and due to expire in two weeks. State corrections officials examined the troubled execution of Dennis McGuire in January and found that procedures were followed properly. They did propose an increase in the lethal dosage — to the level just […]
Eric Holder ‘Greatly Troubled’ By Spate Of Botched Executions
Holder told Gwen Ifill on PBS NewsHour that he is “greatly troubled” by the series of prolonged executions carried out in the US states of Ohio, Oklahoma and most recently Arizona.
The Plain Dealer: Flawed Arizona Execution Must Force Another Look At Ohio’s Death Cocktail
Another execution. Another debacle. Another debate. This time the backdrop was a death chamber in Arizona. Condemned killer Joseph Rudolph Wood III took an hour and 40 minutes to die from lethal injection. For most of that time, he “gasped and struggled for breath,” according to an account from Reuters…
Murder victim’s daughter new chairwoman of Ohioans to Stop Executions
Melinda Dawson, the new chairwoman of Ohioans to Stop Executions, has personal experience with the criminal justice system.