(WKBN-TV) An Ohio killer's unusually slow execution amounted to torture, the man's adult children said Friday as they announced plans to sue over his death.
Dennis McGuire's son, also named Dennis, and McGuire's daughter, Amber, referred to the "agony and terror" of watching him as he appeared to gasp in his final moments Thursday.
McGuire, 53, was put to death using a new combination of drugs to end life through lethal injection.
The entire execution took approximately 26 minutes, causing many to doubt the new procedure.
Legal expert Matthew Mangino said he is not surprised a suit is being filed and expects this case to be the beginning of legal moves against lethal injection, possibly slowing down Ohio’s scheduled executions.
“It obviously raises concerns about the process when you’re using a new protocol, and it takes so long to complete the execution,” said Mangino. “I think the fact that this execution didn’t go as planned might open the door to the other condemned inmates asking for this protocol to be reviewed.”
The execution violated McGuire's constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment, said attorney Jon Paul Rion, representing McGuire's children. He called the execution unquestionably cruel.
"The question is whether or not the state of Ohio should duplicate the actions of a criminal. And our answer is no," Rion said. "If we are going to condemn the actions of a person as being wrong because it creates pain, because it creates victims, because it creates an injustice, because it deprives people of life unjustly, then the state of Ohio should not duplicate those actions.
Dennis McGuire's son, also named Dennis, and McGuire's daughter, Amber, referred to the "agony and terror" of watching him as he appeared to gasp in his final moments Thursday.
McGuire, 53, was put to death using a new combination of drugs to end life through lethal injection.
The entire execution took approximately 26 minutes, causing many to doubt the new procedure.
Legal expert Matthew Mangino said he is not surprised a suit is being filed and expects this case to be the beginning of legal moves against lethal injection, possibly slowing down Ohio’s scheduled executions.
“It obviously raises concerns about the process when you’re using a new protocol, and it takes so long to complete the execution,” said Mangino. “I think the fact that this execution didn’t go as planned might open the door to the other condemned inmates asking for this protocol to be reviewed.”
The execution violated McGuire's constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment, said attorney Jon Paul Rion, representing McGuire's children. He called the execution unquestionably cruel.
"The question is whether or not the state of Ohio should duplicate the actions of a criminal. And our answer is no," Rion said. "If we are going to condemn the actions of a person as being wrong because it creates pain, because it creates victims, because it creates an injustice, because it deprives people of life unjustly, then the state of Ohio should not duplicate those actions.
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