Ohio prosecutor criticizes execution delay

DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) — A prosecutor seeking the GOP nomination for Ohio attorney general says the state was wrong when it failed to object to a ruling that delays the second lethal injection attempt of a death row inmate whose veins were unusable.

Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney Dave Yost says in a blog post today that “a problem that occurs daily in hospitals around the world ... cannot possibly fall within [the] constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.”

Gov. Ted Strickland stopped Romell Broom’s execution Sept. 15 when executioners failed to find a usable vein. A plan to try again this week was halted by a federal judge when Broom sued, saying it would be unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost rescheduled a planned hearing next week until Nov. 30. The order was unopposed by the state.