Ohio death penalty stays

The United States 6th. Circuit and Southern Ohio District Courts, this week, joined to effectively postpone any executions in the state of Ohio at least until next Spring.

On October 5th., the Sixth Circuit stayed the execution of Lawrence Reynolds scheduled for Oct. 8th., remanding to the District Court saying:

“As a general proposition, an Eighth Amendment challenge to Ohio’s lethal interjection protocol is currently barred by the two year statute of limitations put in place in Cooey v. Strickland (Cooey II), 479 F.3d 412 (6th Cir. 2007) reh’g denied en banc, 489 F.3d 775 (6th Cir. 2007). After Cooey II, Ohio revised its execution protocol in May 2009 and experienced serious and troubling difficulties in executing at least three inmates, most recently Romell Broom.

“These disturbing issues give rise to at least two questions: first, whether Ohio is fully and competently adhering to the Ohio lethal injection protocol given (a) their failure to have a contingency plan in place should peripheral vein access be impossible, (b) issues related to the competence of the lethal injection team, and (c) other potential deficiencies; and second, whether these instances present sufficient new, additional factors to revive Reynolds’ Eighth Amendment claims otherwise extinguished by Cooey II.

“Broom’s arguments about these very issues will be heard before the Honorable Gregory Frost of the United States District Court of the Southern District of Ohio; to permit this, his execution has been stayed until at least November 30, 2009. Given the important constitutional and humanitarian issues at stake in all death penalty cases, these problems in the Ohio lethal injection protocol are certainly worthy of meaningful consideration. Judge Frost is best positioned to conduct a comprehensive review of these issues for both Reynolds and Broom.”


The Southern Ohio District Court then, last Monday, stayed Kenneth Biros’ Dec. 8th. execution indefinitely and rescheduled its case in pertinence until July 12th. Of that case the District Court “discussed at length with the parties the issues of outstanding discovery ,including additional discovery issues concerning the attempted execution of Romell Broom on Sept.15, 2009, issues concerning expert witnesses, and the issue that Defendants are both considering adopting a new execution protocol that would be materially different than the existing protocol and considering making changes to the existing protocol … a continuance of the trial date is necessary.

“...the Sixth Circuit focused on the need to develop the facts, which targets a need to engage in discovery leading to an evidentiary hearing. The same rationale that resulted in the court of appeals’ staying Reynolds’ execution applies to Biros. This Court cannot say whether Biros is entitled to an ongoing stay of execution based on facts arising from the Broom execution attempt until this Court knows what those facts are. The uncompleted discovery involves these and related facts. Given the issues involved and the instruction of the appellate court, Biros is as entitled to a stay affording him time for discovery and to be heard at trial on the merits of his claims.”

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland stopped Broom's execution on Sept. 15 after two hours when the execution team failed to find a usable vein with which to administer the injections used in carrying out the death penalty. Broom’s execution was later stayed by the District Court on Oct. 20th.

Governor Strickland had issued reprieves for Reynolds and Darryl Durr on the same day as the Sixth Circuit’s stay.


Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision
Southern Ohio District Court’s decision