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State Report On Lethal Injection Protocols Raises Questions

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections has reviewed January's problematic execution, and says it will continue to use the drugs that were used for the first time in that case.But the department’s report is now being questioned. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles reports.

When death row inmate Dennis McGuire was given a lethal injection four months ago, witnesses described him as gasping for air, making loud noises, and showing movements that suggested he was in pain. And it continued for 26 minutes until McGuire was pronounced dead.  The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction decided to review the protocol…the drugs, dosages and process…used for lethal injections. And the agency’s spokeswoman Jo Ellen Smith says the department remains confident that it conducted the execution in a humane, constitutional way and that McGuire was completely unconscious and felt no pain. But Smith says, after speaking with the Department’s medical expert, examining other states’ practices and considering the recommendations of the inmate’s medical expert, the agency finds no harm in increasing the dosage levels of its drugs so it will do that in the future.

Rion – This is the 7th change in 5 years to their protocol so once again, it is not based upon scientific information.  It’s an experiment.

That’s Jon Paul Rion, the attorney who is representing McGuire’s family in a wrongful death suit against the state.  Rion says this report was not produced by independent analysis of the situation.  He says the people who gave clearance for the execution are largely the same ones who produced this report.  And that’s not his only criticism.

Rion – We also know the state did not interview all of the witnesses to the event nor did they take into account certain physiological symptoms that were evident to everyone in the room, mainly the clenching of fists and the arching of the back.  These are not merely unconscious reactions.  Those are clear indicators of consciousness and pain.  They are not involuntary movements of the body and in the report, they don’t even mention or deal with that issue.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio also questions the report.  Spokesman Mike Brickner asks if the protocol was working, why is the state upping the dosages of the drugs for the next execution?

Brickner - There’s a difference between what the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections is saying and what it is doing.  In their report, they said Mr. McGuire’s execution went according to the plan, that he didn’t have any pain, there weren’t any problems and that the medication worked just fine.  And yet, they are changing their protocols and the amount of drugs they will be giving during lethal injections.  And I think that begs the question that if everything worked according to plan, what possible reason would there be to change the plan?

It’s no secret that the ACLU of Ohio would like to see a moratorium on executions for a variety of other reasons, including some social justice concerns that were recently cited in a report by a task force chosen by the Ohio Supreme Court and the Ohio State Bar Association.  That report did not look at the protocol for executions but it did make a number of recommendations for future sentencing, evidence and steps that should be taken to prevent racial bias.  The head of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, John Murphy, disagrees with the findings of that task force study.  But he says he isn’t taking a position on the lethal injection protocol itself.

Murphy = Well if you want to go back to square one, we support the death penalty and we support that it be enforced as efficiently and humanely as possible but the exact method used and what combination of drugs is not within our expertise.

Murphy says he agrees with the four prosecutors on the task force who came out in opposition of the initial recommendations made by majority members.  Murphy says some of the early proposals cited by the majority of members on the task force are far-fetched and not realistic.  The final report from that panel is expected next month.

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