"Lawyer: Ohio execution on hold after vein troubles," is the latest AP report via Google News.
Executioners struggled to find suitable veins to put a condemned inmate to death Tuesday in a prison scene reminiscent of the problems that delayed executions in 2006 and 2007 and led to changes in Ohio's lethal injection process.
The team of prison volunteers was having trouble inserting IVs into the arms of 53-year-old Romell Broom, who entered the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility shortly before 2 p.m., said Tim Sweeney, one of Broom's attorneys.
He lost a last-minute appeal earlier in the day, delaying the execution originally scheduled for 10 a.m.
Messages were left for prison officials in Lucasville and for the Ohio Attorney General's office.
A medical evaluation Monday determined that veins in Broom's right arm appeared accessible, while those in his left arm were not as visible.
Broom is sentenced to die for raping and killing 14-year-old Tryna Middleton in Cleveland in 1984.
In 2006, the execution of Joseph Clark was delayed for more than an hour after the team failed to properly attach an IV, an incident that led to changes in Ohio's execution process.
The state also had difficulty finding the veins of inmate Christopher Newton, whose May 2007 execution was delayed nearly two hours.
And:
Since Clark, the state's execution rules have allowed team members to take as much time as they need to find the best vein for the IVs that carry the three lethal chemicals.
Related posts are in the lethal injection index. Earlier Ohio lethal injection issues here, here, here, and here. Thanks to Scott Taylor for distributing the AP article.
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