Gov. Mike DeWine has delayed three more executions set for May, July and September while the state develops a new lethal injection process.
DeWine had already delayed the execution of Wayne Keith Henness scheduled for last month, after a federal judge expressed concern that inmates could suffer severe pain during lethal injection.
DeWine said at an Ohio AP forum last month that he wants an execution method that can stand up to federal court scrutiny.
“Ohio is not going to execute somebody on my watch when Ohio has found it to be cruel and unusual punishment.”
Ohio’s lethal injection mixture includes the controversial sedative midazolam, which caused Dennis McGuire to appear to be gasping and choking in his 2014 execution, though a prisons department report concluded he didn’t suffer pain or distress. Midazolam has also been connected with problematic executions in Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma.