An Ohio death row inmate who survived an attempted execution died Monday over possible complications related to COVID-19.
Romell Broom, 64, survived lethal injection in 2009, becoming the second inmate nationally to survive an execution in modern times, according to the Associated Press. Gov. Mike DeWine issued a reprieve earlier in 2020 and delayed Broom’s execution date until March 2022.
Broom’s most recent execution was scheduled for June.
After contracting the coronavirus, Broom was placed on the “COVID probable list,” which includes names of inmates suspected to have died from the virus but are pending a death certificate, Sara French, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said. French said 124 inmates have died from confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19.
Broom was 53 when the Ohio Corrections Department attempted his execution. The lethal injection was called off after two hours when technicians couldn’t find a suitable vein, and Broom cried in pain while receiving 18 needle sticks.
Broom later returned to death row, and his lawyers unsuccessfully argued against setting a new date for execution.
Broom was convicted with the death penalty in 1984 for the abduction, rape, and murder of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton, who was walking home from a football game in Cleveland.
Ohio is under a de facto death penalty moratorium due to the lack of drugs needed for lethal injection. DeWine has encouraged lawmakers to find alternative methods of carrying out death sentences.
Since the introduction of the electric chair in the 1880s, only three death row inmates in the United States have survived first attempts of execution, the Associated Press reported.
