Post by marion on Jun 29, 2006 2:03:15 GMT -5
Ohio changing lethal injection process
ERICA RYAN,
Associated Press
June 28, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state will change its lethal injection process to help
prevent problems like last month's struggle to find a vein in a condemned
man's arm, leading the man to ask that officials find another way to kill
him, according to a report issued Wednesday.
Execution teams will make every effort to find two injection sites and will
use a new method to make sure the veins stay open once entryways are
inserted, prisons Director Terry Collins told Gov. Bob Taft in the report.
The review was prompted by the execution of Joseph Clark that was delayed
about 90 minutes when staff had problems finding a viable vein and one vein
they did use collapsed.
The execution drew criticism from death penalty opponents who said the
problems illustrated why the method of capital punishment is cruel, and it
came amid a growing national debate over lethal injection.
Clark, 57, who killed a gas station attendant during a robbery, continued to
move during the initial injection attempt and then finally pushed himself up
and said, "It don't work."
The execution team will now establish a low-pressure saline drip to test
whether the vein being used for the lethal injection is open and continues
to be useable, instead of using a high-pressure saline injection with a
syringe, according to the report.
The practice of evaluating the inmate before the execution also will be
changed from a visual observation to include as many as three hands-on
evaluations during the night before and morning of the execution. The
evaluations will be used to determine if any potential problems exist and
what could be done to reduce their effect, the report said.
Prison staff will be advised that they have no requirement to complete the
execution within a certain timeframe, the report said.
"Our current practice has created an artificial self-imposed time barrier
resulting in enormous pressure on the execution team members. Allowing this
expectation has caused staff to believe they must act quickly, contributing
to the difficulty of the task," the report said.
The changes will be in place for Ohio's next execution scheduled for July
12.
ON THE NET
Prisons department: www.drc.state.oh.us/
ERICA RYAN,
Associated Press
June 28, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state will change its lethal injection process to help
prevent problems like last month's struggle to find a vein in a condemned
man's arm, leading the man to ask that officials find another way to kill
him, according to a report issued Wednesday.
Execution teams will make every effort to find two injection sites and will
use a new method to make sure the veins stay open once entryways are
inserted, prisons Director Terry Collins told Gov. Bob Taft in the report.
The review was prompted by the execution of Joseph Clark that was delayed
about 90 minutes when staff had problems finding a viable vein and one vein
they did use collapsed.
The execution drew criticism from death penalty opponents who said the
problems illustrated why the method of capital punishment is cruel, and it
came amid a growing national debate over lethal injection.
Clark, 57, who killed a gas station attendant during a robbery, continued to
move during the initial injection attempt and then finally pushed himself up
and said, "It don't work."
The execution team will now establish a low-pressure saline drip to test
whether the vein being used for the lethal injection is open and continues
to be useable, instead of using a high-pressure saline injection with a
syringe, according to the report.
The practice of evaluating the inmate before the execution also will be
changed from a visual observation to include as many as three hands-on
evaluations during the night before and morning of the execution. The
evaluations will be used to determine if any potential problems exist and
what could be done to reduce their effect, the report said.
Prison staff will be advised that they have no requirement to complete the
execution within a certain timeframe, the report said.
"Our current practice has created an artificial self-imposed time barrier
resulting in enormous pressure on the execution team members. Allowing this
expectation has caused staff to believe they must act quickly, contributing
to the difficulty of the task," the report said.
The changes will be in place for Ohio's next execution scheduled for July
12.
ON THE NET
Prisons department: www.drc.state.oh.us/