Ohio Death Penalty Information

Ann Fisher commentary in Columbus Dispatch:  Columbus Dispatch columnist Ann Fisher has this commentary, entitled State's use of death penalty ripe for debate."

Excerpt:
There’s never a wrong time to rethink a policy such as the death penalty. It was a widely popular notion in the 1970s, but things change.

Gov. Ted Strickland recently postponed three executions so he could study the cases more thoroughly. The prisoners were set for lethal injection just as Strickland took office this month.

The decision has spurred critics to question his motives. Surely, his prudence is in step with not only good legal practice but also the trends. ...

ODPI posts are limited today due to travel-related time constraints.

Von Clark Davis resentencing ordered by US 6th Circuit Ct of Appeals:  A three-judge panel (Daughtrey, Cole, Gibbons) of the US 6th Circuit Ct of Appeals today granted conditional habeas relief to Ohio death row inmate Von Clark Davis, remanding the case back to the US District Court for Southern Ohio to in turn order a new sentencing hearing for Davis.  The court ruled that denying Davis the opportunity to introduce evidence in an earlier resentencing proceeding of good behavior while incarcerated was a violation of a standard set by the US Supreme Court in Skipper v. South Carolina on when new evidence can be introduced in such proceedings.  Today's 3-0 ruling is here (19-page pdf).

Cincinnati Enquirer series continues with look at execution of mentally ill in Ohio:  Sharon Coolidge and Jon Craig have this article, entitled "Killers face uncertain death," on the possible new approach of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland toward the execution of mentally ill inmates, with a focus on death-row inmates Darryl Gumm and Michael Bies.

Excerpt:
...Strickland said he's not considering a moratorium on all executions, but has signaled that changes are coming in the way Ohio handles its worst criminals.

He's particularly cautious in regard to the mentally retarded. "I don't believe that a person who is mentally retarded, a person who has a documented, serious mental illness, should be subject to this penalty," he said. "I think there are those circumstances where it is inappropriate."

He said the purpose of executive review and clemency hearings is to look at the circumstances at the time of the crime, including a suspect's mental state.

"Just simply the presence of a mental illness may not be a kind of circumstance that would justify clemency," Strickland said. "But I also think that people who suffer from serious mental illness sometimes become psychotic and unable to distinguish reality from non-reality and I think those kind of circumstances should be certainly considered when a punishment is being administered."

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann said he is reviewing all available information related to the mental retardation claims. ...

(The Enquirer is soliciting online feedback to the question "What should Gov. Strickland do?", at this link.)

Good sources of death penalty news (and more from the Gainesville Sun):  StandDown Texas notes here that there are actually three articles in today's Gainesville Sun dealing with lethal injection.  Ack!  To avoid possible further humbling embarassment (caused at the moment solely by a balky out-of-town internet connection, btw), ODPI recommends that readers regularly check out the StandDown Texas Project, Capital Defense Weekly, Amnesty Int'l Death Penalty Blog, and NCADP's Abolish the Death Penalty blogs for comprehensive coverage of death penalty news from an abolitionist perspective.  (There are others that avid death penalty watchers are aware of:  Apologies already to Rick Halperin's dp page which I can't locate the link for at the moment..then there's the Abolish List...and some great pd sites... It's hard to not mention a long list...Time to get the links section up!)

The Gainesville Sun shines some light on lethal injection:  The Gainesville Sun has two articles on lethal injection (in Florida and elsewhere) in the Sunday edition, both by Nathan Crabbe:

• This article, entitled "DOCTORS & EXECUTIONS: A complex dilemma of medicine, ethics and law," examines the current controversy over the participation and anonymity of doctors and other medical professionals in executions.

Excerpt:
...The hood is off doctors involved in Florida executions, creating a conflict for a state trying to ensure that lethal injection is medically sound.

The Florida Department of Corrections has fought to conceal the identity of doctors who pronounce inmates dead at executions, saying it's against Florida law to reveal these doctors' names. In the death chamber, these physicians wear hoods and goggles, shielding their faces from execution witnesses.

But now the Alachua County medical examiner has released autopsy reports from 18 executions revealing the names of three doctors — Elio Madan, Rodrigo Quintana and Victor Selyutin — who have pronounced executed inmates dead. Unlike the Department of Corrections, the medical examiner contends that state law only protects the identity of the executioner, not these doctors.

The issue of doctor involvement in executions presents a "Catch-22" for Florida and other states trying to fix problems with lethal injection. ...

• This article, entitled "Doctors have a long history with executions," has some historical perspective on doctor participation in executions, and notes some unintended consequences of past methods of execution.

Excerpt:
Doctors being involved in executions is nothing new — just look at Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, the namesake of the guillotine in the 18th century.

Guillotin helped develop the device as a more humane execution method, but was later disgusted by the way it was used. Dr. Jonathan Groner cites that example in an article* warning doctors of the unintended consequences of taking part in executions.

"It's generally worked out badly for doctors and society," said Groner, an associate professor of surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health.

The article, published in the British Medical Journal, looks at doctor involvement in executions ranging from Nazi Germany to the University of Oklahoma anesthesiologist who conceived the lethal injection procedure. ...

• Note:  The article referred to by Dr. Jonathon Groner is from the Nov. 2, 2002, British Medical Journal here (Lethal injection: a stain on the face of medicine -- Groner 325 (7371): 1026 -- BMJ)

Concerns over Richey health:  Two articles in today's UK Scotsman (Scotland on Sunday) address concerns over the health of Ohio death row inmate Kenny Richey:  This article by Anna Millar, entitled "Poor health of Death Row Scot alarms campaigners," has reactions to this article written by Richey, in which he describes his current physical confinement and the effects of 20 years on Ohio's death row.

Excerpt from Millar article:
...The contents of Richey's article prompted serious concern from campaigners.

Marc Callcutt, of Reprieve, who met Richey last summer, said: "I met Kenny just before his second heart attack and I had concerns then. He is desperate for his case to be heard properly and that is obviously having an effect on his health.

"His health is deteriorating all the time and the only hope now is that a court rules in his favour before his health is beyond repair."

Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen added: "I think anyone reading Kenny's account of 20 heartbreaking years on Death Row would oppose his execution and support him in his quest to prove his innocence." ...

Cincinnati Enquirer articles on Ohio death penalty: The Cincinnati Enquirer has three stories related to the Ohio death penalty in its Sunday edition:

• This article by reporter Jon Craig, entitled "Is death row slowing down? Decision is 'probably the toughest' Strickland faces in job," provides some statements by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland from an Enquirer interview and earlier media reports on how Strickland views his responsiiblity as governor vis-a-vis the death penalty.

Excerpts:
...Strickland, a former prison psychologist, said in an interview last week that he has "serious questions" about capital punishment.

Strickland said he's not considering a moratorium on all executions.

...In the interview, he said he is sympathetic to those suffering mental illness or retardation, but will decide on a case-by-case basis.

...In the interview, Strickland called capital punishment "probably the toughest" issue he faces as governor.

"One of the reasons that I wanted this delay was that I have very, very superficial knowledge of any of these cases,'' he said. "I really don't want my action here to be misinterpreted. These are life and death situations, and it's not something that I felt that I could adequately make a decision about in a compressed period of time.''

He promised to be deliberate but decisive, sensitive but not soft while reviewing death penalty cases.

...Ohio and Kentucky are the latest states with federal lawsuits challenging lethal injection. Lawyers for seven Ohio inmates call it cruel and unusual punishment in a case to be decided soon by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

"The governor has indicated he would be troubled if an execution took place in Ohio and a week later lethal injection was determined to be unconstitutional,'' said Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman.

...In addition to reading hundreds of pages of case files, Taft's legal staff would interview the families of victims and, on occasion, death row inmates. Strickland said his staff is conducting the same kind of thorough review.

...Strickland is Ohio's first Democratic governor since Richard Celeste, who commuted eight death sentences to life in prison as one of his final actions in January 1991. Celeste cited a "disturbing racial pattern" in death sentencing, but also took IQ and mental health into account.

Those issues remain - and remain troubling to Strickland.

Ohio has about two dozen death row inmates claiming they should not be executed because they are mentally retarded. In June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed, banning all executions of killers with mental retardation, or IQs of 70 or below. "I thought the Supreme Court was absolutely correct in that decision,'' Strickland said. "I don't believe that a person who is mentally retarded, a person who has a documented, serious mental illness should be subject to this penalty. I think there are those circumstances where it is inappropriate." ...

• This article by Dan Horn, entitled "Lethal injection stirs death penalty debate," provides some information on the Ohio lethal-injection challenge case (Cooey v. Taft), currently on hold pending an appeal in the US 6th Circuit Ct of Appeals.

Excerpt:
...Whatever the 6th Circuit does, both sides expect a court to one day rule on the legality of lethal injection in Ohio. The U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed federal challenges to lethal injection to go forward, but the justices did not weigh in on the merits of those challenges.

State officials say Ohio's method is fair and humane, but they say they'd welcome a review of the process by a judge.

"I think that's appropriate," said Jim Canepa, chief of capital crimes for Attorney General Marc Dann. "People need to feel the process is as fair as it can be."

• This article by Jon Craig and Sharon Coolidge, entitled "Inmate's hope fades on death row; Making peace with God is 'all I can do about it,'" is a profile of death-row inmate Cedric Carter, who was interviewed by the Enquirer on Friday.

Excerpt:
...Carter, 33, of West End has been on death row for 15 years for the murder of a convenience store clerk. He is one of 38 convicted killers kept at Mansfield Correctional Institution because of mental health issues.

He doesn't expect to live much longer; his death penalty appeals are nearly exhausted. ...

Darrow on the death penalty:  Baltimore Sun columnist Dan Rodricks has this post on his "Random Rodricks" blog offering some inspired words by Clarence Darrow in 1924 for consideration in the current discussion of a repeal of the Maryland death penalty.

New York Daily News coverage of Block statements in NYC death-penalty case:  John Marzulli has this article on the front page of the New York Daily News, entitled "Blockhead: I said what I meant & I meant what I say," on Wednesday's statements by US District Court Judge Frederic Block to the US Dept. of Justice about the futility of seeking a death penalty in the Kenneth McGriff case.