Ohio will temporarily stop executions

July 19, 2011

Ohio: District Court judge Gregory Frost last week put a temporary stop to Ohio's use of capital punishment, agreeing with the lawyers of a man set to be executed. The attorneys appealed carrying out the execution based on the willingness of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to comply with state regulations. In the ruling, Frost said, "Ohio pays lip service to standards it then often ignores without valid reasons, sometimes with no physical ramifications and sometimes with what have been described as messy if not botched executions."

Attorney General Mike DeWine has expressed his disagreement with the ruling, but made clear that the state will not appeal it. Instead, Ohio will make some revisions following the judge's orders and most likely return to Frost for approval. The head of the Ohio prison system remarked on the situation as well, saying, "Those involved in implementing court-ordered lethal injection sentences in Ohio have consistently carried out this extremely difficult task in a dignified, professional and humane manner. We will use Judge Frost's decision as an opportunity to improve our procedures and practices in preparation for carrying out future lethal injection sentences."