Lawyer: Ohio's new lethal-injection plan amounts to asking court to approve human experiment
By: ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
Associated Press
11/20/09 4:05 PM EST
COLUMBUS, OHIO — An attorney for a condemned killer says Ohio's new lethal-injection plan is so untested it would amount to human experimentation if used for the first time next month.
Lawyer Tim Sweeney said Friday there's no reason for federal courts to allow the scheduled execution of Kenneth Biros (BY'-rohs) in about two and a half weeks given the lack of details in the proposed system.
Biros has argued Ohio's three-drug vein injection could cause severe pain, in violation of the Constitution.
The state last week replaced that system with a single dose of anesthetic. It says the new approach renders Biros' complaint moot.
Ohio also proposed a two-drug muscle injection as a backup. But Biros' lawyer says in a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals filing there's no evidence of the backup's reliability.
