ABA expresses concern about Ohio plan to resume executions
The ABA is “deeply concerned” about Ohio’s plans to resume executions, according to a statement by ABA President Linda A. Klein.
Ohio has not implemented important reforms to improve the accuracy and fairness of the death penalty that were recommended in a 2007 report, according to Klein’s statement.
The ABA had worked with Ohio experts to produce the report, which found geographic and racial bias had resulted in inconsistent and unfair administration of the death penalty. The report also found inadequate protections for defendants with mental illnesses.
Ohio has not executed an inmate since January 2014, when inmate Dennis McGuire gasped for air and made guttural noises for about 10 minutes during a longer-than usual execution process, the Associated Press reports. The execution used a two-drug cocktail, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Executions are set to resume Wednesday when Ronald Phillips is scheduled to die for the 1993 rape and murder of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter. The state will use three drugs in the execution.
The ABA does not take a position on the death penalty as a means of punishment, but it does believe the death penalty should be implemented fairly, accurately and with due process.
Ohio has implemented a handful of death-penalty reforms in the last few years, but a majority of the recommendations in the 2007 report have not been implemented, Klein says in the statement.
