The gruesome botching of an execution in Ohio on Tuesday, when technicians tried but failed to find a vein in a Death Row inmate through which to administer the required mortal fluids, is casting a fresh spotlight on the flaws in America’s system of capital punishment system at a time when public support for it may already be flagging.
Lawyers for Romell Broom, convicted in the 1984 rape and killing of a 14-year-old girl abducted in Cleveland, were successful in blocking the state’s plans to have a second go at dispatching him by lethal injection in three days’ time, for the surreal reason that one week is not enough time for him to recover from his near-death. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order yesterday, effective for 10 days.
