Doctor: Ohio's lethal injection inhumane
ELYRIA, Ohio - April 7, 2008 Dr. Mark Heath's testimony on behalf of two murder defendants
came in a Lorain County hearing on the constitutionality of state's
method for putting prisoners to death.
Heath, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Columbia
University, says it's possible to perform lethal injection of
prisoners in a humane manner, but that Ohio's method falls below
the standard for euthanizing household pets.
Ohio requires its executions to be carried out "in a
professional, humane, sensitive and dignified manner." The two men
facing murder charges say the state's lethal injection procedure
doesn't give the quick and painless deaths required by state law.
Lethal injections are on hold nationally while the U.S. Supreme
Court considers a challenge in a case from Kentucky, which is among
the roughly three dozen states that administer three drugs in
succession to sedate, paralyze and kill prisoners.
The major criticism of the three-drug execution procedure is
that if the executioner administers too little anesthetic or makes
mistakes in injecting it, the inmate could suffer excruciating pain
from the other two drugs.
Heath testified that the design of Ohio's death house was
problematic because it separates the inmate from the person
administering the drugs in two separate rooms. The rooms are
separated by a one-way mirror.
"Doing it that way substantially increases the risk of a major
problem occurring," said Heath, adding later, "I would never
induce general anesthesia from a different room through long
tubing."
Anesthesiologists always administer drugs while standing next to
the patient so they can detect if problems occur, such as a leak or
a ruptured vein, Heath said. He also warned drugs could go into the
tissue instead of the vein.
Other problems that could occur come during the mixing of the
anesthetic - sodium thiopental, which is sold in powder form - and
the insertion of the catheters in the veins and kinks in the IV
tubing, he said.
Difficulties with two executions in recent years, in which the
execution team struggled to find suitable veins in inmates' arms,
brought complaints that the method is unconstitutionally cruel and
unusual. Ohio officials stand by the procedure.
Heath testified on behalf of defendants Ronald McCloud and Ruben
Rivera, who are accused of separate murders and could receive death
sentences if convicted.
The state was expected to counter with expert witness Dr. Mark
Dershwitz, an anesthesiologist from Massachusetts, who will testify
via video conference Tuesday.
Ohio has executed 26 inmates since it resumed putting prisoners
to death in 1999.