October 27, 2009
Ohio Can't Find Doctors To Offer Execution Advice
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio was on track this year to execute a record number of inmates. One botched execution and several lawsuits later, the death penalty is temporarily on hold. The latest challenge: The state can't find medical professionals willing to advise it on the best way to put condemned inmates to death because of ethical and professional rules. The rules — which generally prohibit doctors, nurses and others from involvement in capital punishment — are deterring those professionals from speaking publicly or privately about alternatives to the state's lethal injection process, Attorney General Richard Cordray said in a court filing. "A small number of promising leads have emerged, but identifying qualified medical personnel willing and able to provide advice to the State regarding lethal injection options continues to be challenging and time-consuming," Cordray said in the Friday filing in U.S. District Court.Click Here For The Full Story......