Ohio drops two-drug combination used in prolonged execution
Ohio has announced that it’s dropping the two-drug combination it used in the prolonged execution last year of death row inmate Dennis McGuire.
The state also says it will resume using an anesthetic that it stopped using in 2011 when the manufacturer restricted its distribution for use in executions, the Associated Press reports.
As part of its announcement, the state said it would delay the scheduled Feb. 11 execution of death row inmate Ronald Phillips, who is set to die for the 1993 rape and murder of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter.
Other scheduled executions may also be delayed depending on the availability of the state’s new execution drugs, the state Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections said.
Ohio was the first state to use the two-drug combination used to execute McGuire, who repeatedly gasped and snorted during the 26-minute long procedure. McGuire’s adult children are suing the state, saying their father endured needless pain and suffering.
