Lawyers: Inmate too fat for lethal injection
Source: Agencies |
December 7, 2012, Friday
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OHIO death row inmate Ronald Post, who weighs 204 kilograms, is so fat his executioners won't be able to find veins in his arms or legs for the lethal injection, and he might even break the death chamber gurney, his lawyers said.
If the state is forced to use a backup method involving injecting the drugs directly into muscle, the process could require multiple doses over several hours or even days and result in a grueling and painful end, they said.
Post, who gained close to 91 kilograms on death row, is trying to stave off execution on January 16 for the 1983 killing of a motel clerk during a robbery, arguing that because of his obesity, an attempt to put him to death would amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
State officials say Post, 53, can be humanely executed under both Ohio's usual method and the untested backup procedure. The warden at the prison where the death chamber is situated even tested the gurney by piling 245 kilograms of weights on it for two hours.
Post has not presented "sufficient evidence demonstrating that his obesity or other physical conditions will present a substantial risk that his execution cannot be conducted in a humane and dignified manner," Assistant Attorney General Charles Wille said in court papers.
A federal judge in Columbus will hold a hearing on Post's claim later this month.
The case is not without precedent. In 1994, a federal judge in Washington state ruled convicted killer Mitchell Rupe, at more than 181 kilograms, was too heavy to be hanged because he might be decapitated. After numerous court rulings and a third trial, Rupe was sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2006.
If Post manages to stop his execution because of his weight, the legal precedent may not be far-reaching, because few death row inmates are that obese, said Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor and expert on lethal injection. She said it is unlikely prisoners would begin stuffing themselves to try to fend off execution.
Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which opposes capital punishment, predicted states will find a way around obesity claims by altering execution procedures.
If the state is forced to use a backup method involving injecting the drugs directly into muscle, the process could require multiple doses over several hours or even days and result in a grueling and painful end, they said.
Post, who gained close to 91 kilograms on death row, is trying to stave off execution on January 16 for the 1983 killing of a motel clerk during a robbery, arguing that because of his obesity, an attempt to put him to death would amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
State officials say Post, 53, can be humanely executed under both Ohio's usual method and the untested backup procedure. The warden at the prison where the death chamber is situated even tested the gurney by piling 245 kilograms of weights on it for two hours.
Post has not presented "sufficient evidence demonstrating that his obesity or other physical conditions will present a substantial risk that his execution cannot be conducted in a humane and dignified manner," Assistant Attorney General Charles Wille said in court papers.
A federal judge in Columbus will hold a hearing on Post's claim later this month.
The case is not without precedent. In 1994, a federal judge in Washington state ruled convicted killer Mitchell Rupe, at more than 181 kilograms, was too heavy to be hanged because he might be decapitated. After numerous court rulings and a third trial, Rupe was sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2006.
If Post manages to stop his execution because of his weight, the legal precedent may not be far-reaching, because few death row inmates are that obese, said Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor and expert on lethal injection. She said it is unlikely prisoners would begin stuffing themselves to try to fend off execution.
Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which opposes capital punishment, predicted states will find a way around obesity claims by altering execution procedures.
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