Today's Dayton Daily News reports, "Warden: Dennis McGuire execution went 'very well'." It's by Josh Sweigart.
Initial reviews indicate everything went according to plan in the Jan. 16 execution of Dennis McGuire of Preble County, whose execution brought international attention and legal challenges after he gasped for breath and took longer than usual to die.
"The process worked very well," wrote Donald Morgan, warden of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, in an "after-action review" immediately after overseeing the execution. Morgan has overseen at least a dozen executions.
The two completed reviews are mandated by the state's execution protocol, and were obtained by the Dayton Daily News using Ohio's public records laws. A third review is under way of McGuire's execution specifically, which is not commonly done, according to state prison officials.
McGuire was executed with a two-drug cocktail previously unused for executions. His death took roughly 25 minutes, making it the longest of the 53 since Ohio resumed executions using lethal injection in 1999. It featured an unusual 10 minutes of him intermittedly gasping and snorting for air while apparently unconscious.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer links to the warden's memo. "State prison officials stand behind procedures, policies in Dennis McGuire's execution," is the Plain Dealer report by John Caniglia.
State officials say prison employees followed proper procedures and policies in the execution of Dennis McGuire, whose death has sparked lawsuits over lethal injection and has made the state a flashpoint in the national debate of capital punishment.
"The process worked very well, and the execution was carried out in compliance'' with the state execution policy, wrote Donald Morgan, the warden of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, where the execution took place.
His brief memo to Gary Mohr, the director of the state prison system, came hours after McGuire was put to death Jan. 16. It was part of a review of McGuire's execution process. The memo was based solely on whether state prison officials followed the prison system's policies.
It took 25 minutes for McGuire to die, and those who witnessed the death said the inmate gasped for air as the drugs hydromorphone and midazolam filled his body. A prison expert had said prior to the execution that McGuire would die in a matter of minutes.
It marked the first time the drugs have been used in an execution. McGuire's family has sued the state, claiming McGuire suffered extreme cruelty during the process.
And:
The drugs also are scheduled to be used in the execution of Gregory Lott, the Cleveland killer who is scheduled to die March 19. His attorneys have sought an injunction to stop the execution, and they will argue with state prosecutors Feb. 19 whether the drugs amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
"Initial reviews recommend no changes to Ohio execution policy after inmate's lengthy execution," is AP coverage by Andrew Welsh-Huggins, via the Daily Journal.
Initial reviews of Ohio's lengthiest execution during which an inmate repeatedly gasped found no reason to change the way the state puts condemned prisoners to death.
The reviews, required by Ohio's prison rules, found that the state's execution policy was followed and the execution and medical team members did what they were supposed to.
The findings are important because the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is under strict instructions from a federal judge to stick to its written policies, last updated in October.
Ohio also is planning a longer review of Dennis McGuire's Jan. 16 execution looking more closely at what happened during the procedure.
"State officials: Nothing unusual in McGuire execution," is by Marc Kovac in the Youngstown Vindicator.
State prison officials noted nothing out-of-the ordinary in initial reviews of the prolonged execution of Dennis McGuire last month.
In fact, Donald R. Morgan, warden of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville who witnessed McGuire’s lethal injection, wrote, “The process worked very well.”
And a special assistant who reviewed the process wrote, “I find no reason for revision of policy for future executions.”
DRC Spokeswoman JoEllen Smith released the reports Wednesday, noting in an email, “a broader review is under way looking specifically at what occurred during the McGuire execution.”
"Ohio officials insist Dennis McGuire execution 'worked very well'," by Ed Pilkington in the Guardian.
Eyewitnesses in the death chamber reported that it took up to 26 minutes for McGuire to die, making it the longest execution in Ohio in modern times. The prisoner was seen to be gasping for air for up to 14 minutes in a procedure that one observer, Lawrence Hummer, described in the Guardian as horrendous and inhumane.
In a report written immediately after the execution, known as an “after-action review”, the warden of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility where the execution took place, Donald Morgan, writes that “the process worked very well and the execution was carried out in compliance with” the state’s death penalty protocol. In answer to the routine question, “Were there acts or events that were not anticipated in advance?” he replies: “No.”
A separate review carried out by a special assistant after the execution had been completed found that all the required medical steps set out in the protocol had been properly followed using trained and qualified staff and there had been no variations from established policy. “I find no reason for revision of policy for future executions,” the report concluded.
The official recorded timeline of the McGuire executionalso made no mention of anything untoward, even though a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch observed that the prisoner had “struggled, made guttural noises, gasped for air and choked”.
The department of corrections stressed that the two reviews were the initial reports into the execution and were narrowly cast to look specifically at whether the requirements of the state’s death penalty protocol had been complied with. A third examination investigating what actually happened during the McGuire execution is already under way though it is not clear when it will be made public.
Earlier coverage from Ohio begins at the link.
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