State will require review of executions

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

The Ohio prisons department announced Friday it would require a post- execution review of all lethal injections as part of policy changes made in response to a federal court judge’s criticism.

Department spokesman Carlo LoParo said the new procedure is part of a “comprehensive rewriting” of state execution policy that was filed with U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost, who had halted a July execution, citing “haphazard application” of certain death penalty protocols.

The requirement calls for a “quality assurance review” by a special assistant designated by the director of the prisons department. It must include an evaluation of the execution team and a review of documentation, training and professional qualifications.

The change is intended to ensure protocols are followed and provide recommendations for improvement, LoParo said. He said other changes to the policy were made to bolster required documentation and clarify instructions.

On July 8, Frost delayed the execution of death row inmate Kenneth Wayne Smith, which had been scheduled for July 19. Frost agreed with Smith that the state enforces some of its execution policies haphazardly, calling the situation an embarrassment.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Carol Wright, who represents Smith, said Friday that his defense team had only recently received the new policy and had no immediate comment.

Smith and other inmates have argued that Ohio too often strays from its execution policies by not always having the required number of execution-team members present and not always documenting the mixing of drugs. Frost agreed in four areas.

“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,” Frost wrote.

He did not judge whether Ohio’s death penalty itself was constitutional.

The ruling led Gov. John Kasich to postpone an August execution to give the state time to address Frost’s concerns. The new policy is to go into effect Sept. 18, two days before the state’s next scheduled execution.