Court rejects Ohio killer’s injection challenge

CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal appeals court says an Ohio man who raped and stabbed a 14-year-old girl more than two decades ago filed a challenge of the lethal injection system too late.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled today that Romell Broom is barred by the statute of limitations from challenging the injection process.

A three-judge panel upheld a lower court ruling that said Broom, who filed his challenge in 2007, should have filed no later than the end of 2003.

Broom is one of several inmates who joined a lawsuit arguing that Ohio’s lethal injection process is unconstitutional because it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

The 53-year-old Broom is scheduled to die Sept. 15 for the 1984 death of Tryna Middleton, who was raped and stabbed seven times in Cleveland.