Ohio Death Penalty Information

Ohio Parole Board recommends against clemency for Romell Broom:  The Ohio Parole Board recommended unanimously yesterday that Governor Strickland not grant clemency to death row inmate Romell Broom.  Parole Board report is here (16-page pdf).  Reginald Fields has this article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, entitled "Death row inmate Romell Broom gets thumbs-down from Ohio Parole Board."

Plain Dealer excerpt:

The Ohio Parole Board has unanimously voted against offering clemency to Cleveland death row inmate Romell Broom, who police say kidnapped, raped and murdered a 14-year-old Shaw High School girl in 1984.

Whether Broom's sentence is commuted to life in prison, as he seeks, rests with Gov. Ted Strickland, who is likely to follow the board's recommendation.

Broom's execution date is scheduled for Oct. 18.

But Broom, one of 20 Ohio death row inmates who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the state's lethal-injection procedures, has a court-ordered stay of execution while that case is pending. So he probably would not be sent to death next month even if Strickland won't spare him. ...

Recent related posts:

• Romell Broom execution stayed
• Romell Broom stay of execution apparently will not be appealed

(More information on Romell Broom case here.)

Romell Broom stay of execution apparently will not be appealed

Apparently the Ohio Attorney General is not going to appeal the stay of execution granted to Romell Broom last week in US district court, according to this updated AP article quoting Asst.  Ohio AG Leo Jennings to that effect. 

Excerpt:
...Ohio is waiting for the high court's decision and its impact on the entire lawsuit and so won't appeal the decision to delay Broom's execution.

"We're not going to do this piecemeal," said Leo Jennings, a spokesman for Attorney General Marc Dann. "It's not the best use of our resources." ...

• Waiting for confirmation of the accuracy of this AP report.

UPDATE:  According to a reliable source, the AP story linked to above - quoting Leo Jennings as stating that the AG's office will not appeal the Broom stay - is accurate.  An expanded AP update is here.

(Earlier coverage here.)

AP on Romell Broom stay of execution:  Andrew Welsh-Huggins has this AP article, entitled "Federal judge grants execution delay," noting the stay of execution granted to Ohio death row inmate Romell Broom last Wednesday.

• Earlier coverage here.
• Note: There has been no indication yet as to whether the Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann will appeal the US district court order staying Broom's execution to the US 6th Circuit Ct. of Appeals.

ROMELL BROOM EXECUTION STAYED

The execution of Ohio death row inmate Romell Broom, scheduled for October 18, has been stayed.  Order and opinion by Judge Frost of the US District Court for Southern Ohio is here (10-page pdf).

• More information on Romell Broom - who was granted inclusion in the Ohio lethal injection challenge case (presently on hold pending the outcome of a request for review by the US Supreme Court ) on June 25 - is here.
• No information on whether the Ohio Attorney General will appeal the stay to the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Romell Broom clemency hearing scheduled for September 7:  The Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections today scheduled a Sept. 7, clemency hearing for Romell Broom, who has an execution date set for October 18.   ODRC media advisory is here.

• Note: The emergency motion for a preliminary injunction to stay Broom's October 18 execution, which was filed on June 29, is still pending in the US District Court for Southern Ohio.
• More information on Romell Broom is here.

 

Romell Broom (non)update:  In response to questions regarding the still pending October 18 execution of Ohio death row inmate Romell Broom: The motion filed in US District Court for Southern Ohio on June 29 for a preliminary injunction to stay the execution of Broom has not yet been ruled on by Judge Frost.

• Information contained in earlier posts (here) on the status of Romell Broom's October 18 execution date is still current as of this morning.
• June 29 emergency motion to stay Broom's execution, with accompanying memorandum of support, is here (24-page pdf).

Six additional plaintiffs granted inclusion in Ohio lethal injection challenge case

US District Court Judge Gregory Frost yesterday granted inclusion of six additional Ohio death row inmates to the Cooey v. Taft lawsuit challenging Ohio's lethal injection protocol.  Those granted inclusion by yesterday's order are Mark Wiles, Kevin Keith, Jonathon Monroe, Billy Slagle, Romell Broom (execution date set for October 18; see here), and Jason Getsy.  Combined order and opinion granting the six inclusions is here (22-page pdf).  (Judge Frost's discussion of the statute of limitations issue in the case, and his reasons for continuing case proceedings despite the recent US 6th Circuit Court rulings ordering the case dismissed begins on page 12.)

• As noted in previous posts, a three-judge panel of the US 6th Circuit Ct. of Appeals ordered the Cooey case to be dismissed in March (17-page opinion here (pdf), finding the lawsuit to be procedurally barred due to a statute of limitations violation.  In a split vote, the full 6th Circuit denied reconsideration of the dismissal on June 13 (order here (3-page pdf)).  An application to the US Supreme Court was subsequently filed asking the court to hear an appeal of the dismissal.  Pending the Supreme Court's response to that request - expected sometime this fall - the US 6th Circuit has "stayed the mandate" of the dismissal order, and district court proceedings are continuing in the case until there is a final resolution of whether or not the case can continue.

Earlier posts:

• US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals orders dismissal of Cooey v. Taft lethal injection challenge case
• Full US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals refuses to reconsider dismissal of lawsuit challenging Ohio lethal injection protocol
• US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals "stays mandate" in Ohio lethal injection challenge case

Update:  AP has some sort-of coverage of today's ruling here.

Update 2:  Andrew Welsh-Huggins has this expanded AP coverage of today's ruling.

NEW SERIOUS EXECUTION DATE: ROMELL BROOM - OCTOBER 18

The Ohio Supreme Court today set an October 18, 2007, execution date for Ohio death row inmate Romell Broom.  This appears to be a serious execution date:  Romell's conviction and death sentence were upheld by a 3-judge panel of the US 6th Circuit Ct. of Appeals in March, '06; a petition for a 6th Circuit en banc rehearing was denied in October, '06; the US Supreme Court denied cert. in February of this year, and a motion for reconsideration in April.

• The US 6th Circuit's March, 2006, ruling denying relief to Broom, containing factual and legal background, is here (19-page pdf).

Note on Broom, Clarence Carter execution dates / status of lethal injection challenge case:  Attorneys for Romell Broom filed a motion for inclusion in the Ohio lethal injection lawsuit in US district court in April, but there has been no ruling on the request yet.  Because of the recent rulings by the US 6th Circuit ordering dismissal of the lethal injection case, and the still in-process request for review of that dismissal by the US Supreme Court, the status of various participants in the litigation is uncertain.  Attorneys are moving to "stay the mandate" of the 6th Circuit ruling, which would put implementation of the dismissal on hold pending the Supreme Court response. If the stay of the mandate issues, the consensus seems to be that US District Court Judge Frost will continue to grant inclusion to the lethal injection suit to qualified parties, at least until the Supreme Court response (expected some time this fall - although the timetable could vary depending on how long the Cooey attorneys are given to file briefs; they could be given 90 days, or they could be given less).  The consensus also seems to be that if there is a stay of the mandate, the stays of execution issued prior to the 6th Circuit's dismissal ruling would remain in effect until the Supreme Court response.  Clarence Carter was granted a stay of his July 10 execution in district court on the same day the 6th Circuit ordered the lethal injection case dismissed and - unlike the other stays - his stay has obviously not had any kind of review by the 6th Circuit.  There is a lot of uncertainty and diversity of opinion about how the Carter stay will play out.  Several other inmates were granted inclusion in the lethal injection litigation prior to the 6th Circuit ruling, but have not had execution dates set.  It is not clear whether stays of execution would be issued in response to new execution dates set for any of them before the Supreme Court response.

• As always, preceding information is provided caveat emptor.  It is a best attempt to synthesize information and opinions from various sources.