Ohio Governor Mike DeWine says for the first time in three years, there likely won't be an execution in the state this year, as officials struggle to find lethal injection drugs.
DeWine reiterated his concern rugmakers might cut off supplies to state agencies if they learn any of their drugs were used for capital punishment. DeWine's comments mean a probable delay for the Decemb er 11 execution of James Hanna for killing cellmate Peter Copas at the Lebanon Correctional Institution in 1997. DeWine initially delayed executions because of concerns about the constitutionality of the use of the sedative midazolam in Ohio's three-drug protocol. Midazolam has been used in several problematic executions. Critics say it fails to render inmates deeply unconscious.
