Ohio's Lethal Injection Process is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules

COLUMBUS, OH - Federal Magistrate Judge Michael Merz has ruled that Ohio's lethal injection process is unconstitutional. The decision is based on the use of a sedative that has caused problems during executions in other states, like Arizona.

The execution of Ronald Phillips, originally scheduled to take place next month, has now been delayed, due to the ruling. The sedative, midazolam, is part of a three-drug cocktail, midazolam, rocuronium and potassium chloride, which paralyze inmates and then stops their hearts.

Patch reported last year that rocuronium bromide, a paralytic agent, has never been used to carry out the death penalty in Ohio. Midazolam and potassium chloride, however, were used in a particularly gruesome Oklahoma execution, in which the inmate died from a heart attack 40 minutes after receiving the drug mix.

The BBC reported that Phillips' lawyers argued the sedative and new cocktail is more dangerous than the state's previous execution methods. Phillips would have been the first inmate executed in a Midwestern state since 2014.

Ohio hasn't performed executions since that year because of the state's botched execution of Dennis McGuire. It took McQuire 26 minutes to die, during which he struggled against his restraints and gasped. It was the longest execution since 1999, ABC News reports.

McGuire was administered a combination of midazolam and hydromorphone, drugs commonly found in hospitals. It was the state's first time using that combination and its use was a last resort following a run on its preferred chemicals for lethal injection.

The state will likely appeal the decision. However, Arizona recently agreed to never again use the sedative midazolam in its executions. Attorneys who argued on behalf of Arizona's death row inmates believe that other states will begin to ban the use of the drug.

Mark Haddad, a Los Angeles-based attorney who argued the case, told www.al.com that the decision "is very significant and I hope other states will think about this as well."

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