Judge Rejects Ohio’s “Unconstitutional” Lethal Injection Process

Magistrate Judge Michael Merz, a federal judge, is refusing to remove an order that delays Ohio’s executions.

Last month he declared that the lethal injection process is unconstitutional, and the use of sedatives and drugs that paralyze and stop hearts creates problematic executions.

“All the parties and witnesses in this case agree that use of a barbiturate, either as the first drug in a three-drug protocol or as the sole drug, would be preferable to the current Ohio protocol in that it would eliminate the side effects observed in midazolam-involved executions identified in the lay testimony and would also eliminate (or at least reduce to a constitutionally acceptable level) the risk of subjecting the inmate to severe pain.” Merz wrote in the January decision.

Attorney’s for the Ohio Prison System have asserted that the decision is likely to be overturned on appeal.

In a written opinion he said the state is overstating the significance of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year regarding the permissibility of the sedative midazolam (mih-DAY’-zoh-lam).

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati will hear the case Feb. 21.

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