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USA: OHIO’S DEATH-PENALTY MORATORIUM EXTENDED UNTIL NEXT JANUARY
August 8, 2014: a federal judge has extended a temporary moratorium on executions in Ohio until 15 January 2015 to allow more time for the state to implement a new lethal-injection procedure.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost’s order will delay four scheduled executions in the state. In May, Frost halted all Ohio executions until August in the wake of the controversial execution of convicted killer Dennis McGuire in January. McGuire was seen gasping, choking and clenching his fists while taking an unexpectedly long 25 minutes to die from a never-before-tried lethal-injection cocktail of Midazolam, a sedative, and Hydromorphone, a narcotic painkiller.
A state review concluded that McGuire suffered no pain during his execution, but officials said they would increase the dosage of the drugs for future executions.
Ohio’s new execution protocol calls for 50 mg each of Midazolam and Hydromorphone, the same dosage of the drugs employed in a nearly two-hour-long execution in Arizona in July. Frost extended the moratorium “in light of the continuing need for discovery and necessary preparations related to the adoption and implementation of the new execution protocol.” (Sources: www.cleveland.com, 11/08/2014)
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