Community | October 06, 2009 | 21 comments

Ohio halts executions: Will death penalty end?

source: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/10/06/death-penalty-in-the-us-ohio-halts-executions/

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afitzgerald
FROM THE BLOG:
After a failed execution attempt in September, Ohio is reconsidering its execution procedures. While the state figures things out, its governor Ted Strickland, has issued reprieves for inmates facing impending executions.

The inmate in the failed September attempt, Romell Broom, was convicted in the abduction, rape and murder of a 14 year old girl, though he maintains his innocence. A court has blocked any further attempts to execute him until further notice. His experience is described in the Guardian:

"Three guards stood around him as two nurses tried to insert needles into his arms. "The female nurse tried three separate times to access veins in the middle of my left arm. The male nurse tried three separate times to access veins ... in the middle of my right arm," Broom said in the affidavit. The nurses worked for 30 minutes without success and then took a break. "After the break, the female nurse tried twice to access veins in my left arm. She must have hit a muscle because the pain made me scream out loud," Broom said. "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 arm."

Eventually the female nurse decided she could not go on and walked out of the room. A second break was called.

When the attempt to execute him resumed Broom said he was in such pain: "I tried to assist them by helping to tie my own arm." The male nurse massaged Broom's left arm and laid hot towels across it in an attempt to make a vein stand out, but it proved futile and a third break was called.

"At that point I became very upset. I began to cry because I was in pain and my arms were swelling," said Broom. "I requested that they stop the process and I requested to speak with my attorney."

But the attempt to kill him did not stop. A third nurse entered the room and hunted for a vein in Broom's right ankle. The needle hit the bone and he screamed.

After two hours the prison director, Terry Collins, contacted Strickland who called off the execution."

Death penalty opponents are hopeful that Ohio's reconsideration of their execution procedures may turn into a reconsideration of whether or not to execute at all.

What do you think? Does the Broom case make a good point against the death penalty, or is this just an aberration?
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21 comments // Ohio halts executions: Will death penalty end?

  • Reaper26
    • 0
      Reaper26  

    • truthfully my resolution shoot them I just dont see why you needto keep a murder or a rapist locked up they made their victims n the vic's family suffer, yet he doesnt wanna suffer arent your rights revoked when you commit a crime?

    • 2 years ago
  • NYGiants
    • 0
      NYGiants  

    • So the convicted rapest and killer was crying?????/ Did he care when Im sure his victim was crying. Next time Warden have a better back up plan

    • 2 years ago
  • current89
    • 0
      current89  
    • Image

    • As you can see progress is being made in the United States; mostly in the North East and Mid North-Western States.

      Blue - No current death penalty statute

      Orange - Statute or method declared unconstitutional

      Green - Not applied since 1976

      Red - Has performed execution since 1976

    • 2 years ago
  • current89
    • 0
      current89  
    • Image

    • I'm not completely against Capital punishment, but I think only treasonous offenses should qualify. The wide usage of it in the United States is pathetic, ranking us next to Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea (in which we pretend to always be morally superior). In addition, all of the western nations have abolished or restricted it except for Japan and the US. The fact is that Capital punishment is barbaric and costly, we spend millions of dollars on appeals is this nation that could go to better causes.

      Below is a guide to the death penalty around the world.

      Blue - Abolished for all offenses (94)

      Green - Abolished for all offenses except under special circumstances (10)

      Orange - Retains, though not used for at least 10 years (35)

      Red - Retains death penalty (58)*

    • 2 years ago
  • NotFooled
    • 0
      NotFooled  
    • current89:

      Am I to believe that the Soviet Union has not performed an execution in over 10 years. They may not declare it as an execution, but I guarantee that they are still performed.

    • 2 years ago
  • Reaper26
  • Westnewport
    • 0
      Westnewport  

    • I don't see why they don't just shoot 'em in the friggin' head and be done with it. Let the other inmates clean up the mess... just be damn sure they're guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt.

    • 2 years ago
  • cabinettags
    • 0
      cabinettags  
    • Westnewport:

      That's the rub, newport. Surely you've read the articles about DNA testing that's released prisoners. The courts, appeals and everything else have concluded these folks were guilty; and they weren't. There are probably innocents that have gone to jail and finally died there. One can't just sweep that under the rug. We're talking somebody's life here. I'm not a bleeeding heart but the idea of the state executing somebody that's innocent is something that shouldn't be allowed. Until we can figure out a way to be SURE then we really need to back off with this. This isn't new; it's been going on since Christ was a Corporal. But that's not to say it's right - or that we should continue. I like to think our society has advanced beyond gunpoint justice.

      I don't find any inequity for a person that takes a life to loose theirs in return. One hand washes the other. But in spite of the countless brilliant minds involved in doling out "justice" (not all of them, of course), they're still human and humans make mistakes. Justice and playing God are two different things. And if the state executes an innocent and that comes to light, what do you say? I'm sorry? The victim died, the person convicted of the crime died, and the real criminal is still walking around. Aside from the guilty one that's still free; this is an atrocity done to the person who's life was taken by mistake. That's not who we are.

    • 2 years ago
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  

    • Whwere do you get "end"?

      "After a failed execution attempt in September, Ohio is reconsidering its execution procedures."

      That's like your mechanic saying that they're having trouble with a stuck lug nut so they've decided to stop fixing cars.

    • 2 years ago
  • carmalite
  • FishaHouse777
    • 0
      FishaHouse777  
    • carmalite:

      Texas doesn't give many death penalties, and since we have some of the most liberal gun and property laws I don't mind the death penalty, sorry but just makes me feel safer in a crazy state like Texas

    • 2 years ago
  • redking555
  • cabinettags
    • 0
      cabinettags  

    • When this story first surfaced I said, among other things, that if they can't do it right then they should quit. I'm glad to see they did that.

      For the death penalty, I sit on the fence. An eye for an eye really doesn't sit well with me. The courts reach too many wrong conclusions and even one person put to death wrongly is beyond comprehension.

      At the same time, the alternative to the ultimate penality is to feed and house the people that we refuse to have walk among us, for the remainder of their lives. That gets us paying for their crime; and I don't care for that either.

      Guess the solution is to find a way that these people can remain behind bars but support themselves while they're there. That doesn't seem like such a hard challenge. Variations of this are going on all over now.

      No matter what we do to these people it won't bring the victims back. And by doing this we sink to thier level.

      Possibly an issue our young president should take up? How about a federal prison that satisfies my requirements that the states can use as an alternative to handling it themselves? An alternative for the prisoner sentenced to death? Go there or die here?

      It's a thought.

    • 2 years ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  

    • acontradiction is a perfect example of why neocons lost the election.

      Not only does nothing get done with that kind of attitude, it's a level of vitriol that turns off independents.

      Believe it or not contra, not all liberals are anti-death penalty and pro-choice, plenty are -neither-. And even the "bleeding hearts" you're describing have rational reasons for supporting the things that they do, namely a different interpretation of the constitution and a commitment to a secular government.

      Then again, maybe I'm wasting my time. He seems to be either a paid shill or a troll who doesn't even go back and reply to his rebuttals, just snickers at the people he pissed off.

    • 2 years ago
  • rubyrubysoho
    • 0
      rubyrubysoho  
    • Image

    • The execution couldn't be completed because of the state of his veins after year of drug use!

      And a couple of reports state the 14 year old girl had been drinking and smoking pot. Here we go, blaming the victim while her killer, who BRUTALLY raped and killed her my be pardoned because of his previous heroin abuse?

      I'm normally not a proponent of capital punishment, but this is ridiculous.

    • 2 years ago
  • acontradiction
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  
    • acontradiction:

      0/5 bridges. Incoherent, self contradictory and confusing. Even the spelling was bad. Bad spelling isn't always a negative, but when you're frothing that much you don't need any additional help looking less together.
      As a simple poo throw it's too long, and it attempts to make an argument at the end which has already become a waste of time. You can do much better acontradiction, I've seen it.

      Worst troll I've read this week.

    • 2 years ago
  • asherp
    • 0
      asherp  

    • God I hope they end the death penalty.

      We're such a barbaric nation.

      The only developed nation that executes prisoners.

    • 2 years ago
  • Nephwrack
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