Ohio Executes Man for Killing Cellmate (OH death penalty getting going again)

philly.com ^

[Princip. Conservative]

LUCASVILLE, Ohio - An overweight inmate was executed by injection Thursday after a delay of more than an hour while prison medical staff struggled to find suitable veins in his arms.

The execution of Christopher Newton, who had killed a cellmate in 2001 and insisted on the death sentence, had been set to begin at 10 a.m.

But members of the medical staff at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility struggled to find veins in each arm, said Leo Jennings, a spokesman for the attorney general.

Newton, 37, was pronounced dead shortly before noon. He weighed 265 at his physical on Wednesday. The head of the Public Defender's death penalty division, Joe Wilhelm, said Newton told him it was hard for blood to be taken from his veins because of his weight.

A year ago, the execution of another Ohio inmate, Joseph Lewis Clark, also was delayed more than an hour because the team could not find a suitable vein. The case was cited by death penalty opponents as an example of problems with lethal injection.

[Princip. Conservative]

After the election of Democratic (and generally bad) Governor Ted Strickland, it looked as if the death penalty was all but dead in Ohio. However, this is the second execution by the State of Ohio this year. Sounds like things are getting going again (even if the silly liberals thought this corpulent man's vein problems somehow indicate a 'problem' with lethal injection).

[Pearls Before Swine]

Nitrogen chamber. Painless sleep and suffocation.

[Brilliant]

Kill an innocent citizen, and you get a slap on the wrist. Kill a hardened criminal, and you get the death penalty.

[Glenn]

A couple of quarts of water an hour or two before execution ought to pump up those veins (or are they arteries?). Dehydration is usually the cause.

[MARTIAL MONK]

Put him in a closet and blow in some secondhand smoke. He’ll die in terror and agony.

[AU72]

Nitrogen chamber.

Cheap, easy, non-poisonous. Pain-free blackout in seconds.

[higgmeister]

The case was cited by death penalty opponents as an example of problems with lethal injection.

I so agree!

The State of Ohio should install a medical port on their arms a week before the drop dead date. Then the condemned can reflect on their crimes while they have the itchy little reminder in place ready to go.

[KarlInOhio]

In an interview with reporters last month, Newton said he killed Brewer [his former cellmate] because he repeatedly gave up while they were playing chess.

"Every time I put him in check, he'd give up and want to start a new game," Newton said. "And I tried to tell him you never give up ... I just got tired of it."

Chess? At least kill him in an argument over an prison basketball game.

[Slings and Arrows]

They should try injecting 230 grain copper-jacketed lead bullets behind the ear at velocities of 800+ fps. Guaranteed mortality.

[Abathar]

I always thought that if it was imperative that they get it in fast they could go for the neck, heck its not like they are going to worry about a little bleeding or bruising afterwords... (but they still swab the spot with alcohol, I have to chuckle at that)

[taxcontrol]

Yep, agree 100%

[Eric in the Ozarks]

.495 round ball works too.

[Abathar]

That’s how the Chinese do it, kind of gruesome to watch.

[chrisser]

They should try injecting 230 grain copper-jacketed lead bullets behind the ear at velocities of 800+ fps. Guaranteed mortality.

Sometimes the old ways are the best.

[Slings and Arrows]

That’s how the Chinese do it, kind of gruesome to watch.

But fast, humane, and effective. Lethal injection is for the benefit of the taxpayers' squeamishness, not the dead goblin. As an Army spokesman pointed out during the First Gulf War, there's no nice way to kill someone.

[Slings and Arrows]

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

[JoeFromSidney]

Nitrogen chamber. Painless sleep and suffocation.

I agree. Much better solution. No one can call it inhumane, and it doesn't involve doctors in killing.

[Slings and Arrows]

.495 round ball works too.

True. But who wants to clean up black powder residue?

[Cyber Liberty]

Kill an innocent citizen, and you get a slap on the wrist. Kill a hardened criminal, and you get the death penalty.

Yeah, that's had me scratching my head since I saw the headline, too.

[Busywhiskers]

He killed his cell mate because the guy was a patzer. What’s the matter with that?