So how many botched executions will it take for Ohio to stop this insanity?
While returning from the prayerful witness outside of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility to the execution of Christopher Newton, I had so many issues that arise because the process did not go as planned. This is the second botched lethal injection in Ohio. After the Joseph Clark execution, Ohio changed its process to insure this wouldn’t happen again. There is currently a lawsuit pending regarding the cruel and unusual punishment that is Ohio’s lethal injection protocol. Some inmates have stays of execution and others have not.
TWO HOURS ~~ TWO HOURS to die. Could you even imagine what you would be thinking for those TWO long hours? This has to traumatize EVERYONE involved ~~ waiting and watching for the death: the victim’s family, the prison staff, the government officials and the Newton family. At 10 a.m., I was standing in prayer with other people from around Ohio, waiting for the announcement of death. There was no announcement by 10:30 a.m. I know that past executions take about 15-20 minutes. I was beginning to feel like this was eerily reminiscent of the botched Clark execution. I continued to pray and listen to the tolling of the bell. By 11 a.m., the disturbing feelings that something was terribly wrong began to overwhelm me. I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. Others were milling about concerned about what was happening. Nearly an hour and a half past the beginning time of executions, we got word – There was trouble with finding veins!! How is this possible? Why is this happening? What more could I do?
At 11:25 a.m. I called the Governor’s office to voice my concerns that this is such cruel punishment and I wanted the execution stopped. I don’t know if my message got to him really, but I do know that at 11:53 a.m., Christopher Newton was dead. With two botched executions and a legal suit pending, it is now time to stop executions.
Daphne Miller OTSE (Ohioans To Stop Executions) activist from North Bend, OH (Hamilton County)
9 East Long Street, Suite 201
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614-560-0654
Fax: 614-224-7150
www.otse.org
