Today’s ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court permitting another attempt to execute Romell Broom is extremely alarming. The state of Ohio still cannot explain what went so terribly wrong during the first botched execution attempt; there’s no reason to think they won’t make the same mistakes again.
The very idea that the execution was never started is absurd. He was strapped on the gurney and stabbed with a needle no fewer than 18 times. That’s like tying him to a post and having the firing squad miss. And now they’re going to torture him again.
We should also not forget the too-often ignored tragedy of the continued suffering of the family of Tryna Middleton. Today her family is once again having their loss exacerbated unnecessarily, because there was a death sentence in this case rather than life imprisonment.
Mr. Broom is being mentally and physically tortured, repeatedly, by the State of Ohio. Enough is enough. Our government must not be in the business of intentionally inflicting torture on our citizens. If the state’s intention is that Mr. Broom pay for his crimes by dying in jail, that can be accomplished with a commutation to life without parole. We call on Governor Kasich to do exactly that. Today. In commuting the sentence, Governor Kasich will turn off the spotlight on the offender, stop the repeated traumas to the execution team, witnesses, the victims family and Mr. Broom, and allow the victim’s family to put this case behind them and begin to heal.
Kevin Werner is available for further comment at 614-560-0654
Also, Dr. Jon Groner, a noted expert on lethal injection, examined Romell Broom several days following the aborted execution. He is available for comment as well. Contact [email protected] or 561-371-5204 for Dr. Groner’s phone number.