Hard to kill: the inmate who refuses to die (Death row prisoner to face lethal injection for second time)

A CONVICTED rapist and murderer will face the death chamber for a second time after the first attempt to kill him failed.

Romell Broom, who is convicted of raping and murdering a teenage girl in 1984, was stuck with needles at least 18 times over two hours on September 15, 2009 at the prison in Ohio.

The medical technicians assisting in the execution were unable to find a vein suitable for the catheter required to allow the lethal drugs to flow into the body.

The repeated attempts caused “a great deal of pain” for Broom, who “covered his eyes and began to cry,” court documents said.

The execution was then called off.

However an Ohio court ruled this week that Broom should be put to death for a second time.

In the 4-3 ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court said the original execution never commenced “because the lethal-injection drugs were never introduced into the IV lines.”

“Because Broom’s life was never at risk since the drugs were not introduced ... we do not believe that it would shock the public’s conscience to allow the state to carry out Broom’s execution,” Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger wrote in the majority opinion.

Bessye Middleton holds a painting of her daughter, Tryna, who was abducted, raped and killed after being grabbed off the street in 1984.Source:AP

In a dissent, Justice William O’Neill said the first attempt to execute Broom “chills me to the core.”

“It is not only the rights of the defendant that are in play here,” he said.

“There are state employees who have tragically endured the personal trauma of unsuccessfully attempting to execute a fellow human being.

“And now we, as a society, are telling them, ‘Do it again.’”

A new execution date has not been scheduled.

Broom has appeals pending in federal court, The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio reported.

In the US, 31 states allow the death penalty, though the 8th Amendment to the Constitution bars “cruel and unusual punishment.”

The US has seen several botched executions since January 2014, all involving lethal injection.

Ohio inmate Dennis McGuire took 26 minutes to die and appeared to be gasping for breath at points.

In Oklahoma, Clayton Lockett writhed and moaned during his execution, which took 43 minutes. In Arizona, Joseph Wood took almost two hours to die.

However, Sky News reports a second execution could yet be years away with lawyers set to appeal the ruling.

Broom claims he is innocent of the crime.

If he does face the death chamber, Broom would be the first person to face execution twice in the US, Reuters reported, citing the Death Penalty Information centre.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/