Federal appeals court panel deals another blow to Ohio's execution method

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- A federal appeals court on Thursday barred Ohio from using a certain three-drug cocktail to execute death-row inmates, dealing the state another setback as it seeks to resume executions.

The panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that a preliminary injunction issued in January by federal Magistrate Judge Michael Merz of Dayton should stand for the time being. The appeals court panel affirmed Merz's finding that there is a "substantial risk of serious harm" in using midazolam, a sedative that is one of the three drugs the state endeavors to use in executions.

The 6th Circuit also barred the use of any cocktail that contained potassium chloride, which stops the heart, and any drug that acts as a paralytic agent. The state had previously told a judge in a separate case that it would no longer execute inmates using potassium chloride or paralytic agent pancuronium bromide, yet the state had proposed using both in the new cocktail.

Two states, Arizona and Florida, have discontinued the use of midazolam.

Ohio hasn't executed anyone since January 2014, when it took killer Dennis McGuire 25 minutes to die from a previously unused execution drug combination. McGuire was administered a cocktail that included midazolam. Witnesses said he appeared to gasp several times during his execution and made loud snorting or snoring sounds.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2017/04/federal_appeals_court_panel_de.html