Ohio governor: new lethal injection policy coming in ‘weeks’

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says he expects Ohio to present a federal judge with a proposed new lethal-injection system within weeks.

The Republican governor says the system will be different than the previous protocol. He wouldn’t say whether it would contain the sedative midazolam, which has been used in several problematic executions.

DeWine said he anticipates court challenges when the new process is announced.

The governor ordered the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in January to look at alternative lethal injection drugs. The announcement followed a federal judge’s ruling that said Ohio’s current execution protocol could cause inmates “severe pain and needless suffering.”