Ohio adopts untested drug method for executions

Last update: November 13, 2009 - 8:07 PM

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Ohio waded into uncharted territory Friday, announcing plans to switch from the usual three-drug cocktail used to execute inmates to a one-drug method that death penalty opponents praised as a step forward -- albeit one that has apparently never been tried on prisoners.

The switch came two months after an Ohio inmate walked away from a botched execution attempt. "I chose to do it because I'm getting sued either way," said Terry Collins, the director of Ohio prisons.

Under the three-drug method, the first drug knocks out an inmate, the second paralyzes him and the third stops his heart -- a process that opponents argue is excruciatingly painful if the first drug doesn't work.

The single-drug technique amounts to an overdose of anesthesia, Collins said.

Death penalty opponents hailed Collins' decision as making executions more humane but expressed reservations about using such an untested method. The same drug is commonly used to destroy pets and in some parts of Europe has been used in assisted suicides.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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