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Appeals Court Says Ohio's Lethal Injection Protocol Is Constitutional

Ohio Public Radio

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has ruled Ohio's current lethal injection system does not pose an unconstitutional risk of suffering to condemned inmates. 

The court says the potential for suffocation posed by the three-drug method does not qualify as the type of "severe pain and needless suffering" prohibited by the Constitution. The court ruled Wednesday in the case of Warren Keith Henness, who was sentenced to die for the 1992 fatal shooting of a volunteer addiction counselor. Despite the ruling, the state's unofficial moratorium on executions is likely to continue. Governor Mike DeWine has said Ohio is struggling to find lethal injection drugs.

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