Gov. John Kasich, following the reported 26-minute execution of Dennis McGuire last month, elected to suspend the planned execution of murderer Gregory Lott by about eight months.
Lott’s execution was originally scheduled for March 19, but the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is taking a closer look at the state’s lethal injection process and the Kasich administration moved Lott’s execution to November.
JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said the department was unable to comment on the suspension, as the examination was still in the litigation process.
Lott was intended to be executed using the same combination of sedatives issued to McGuire, midazolam and hydromorphone.
Allison Smith, a spokeswoman for Ohioans to Stop Executions, said that Kasich suspending Lott’s execution is only a small step forward.
“Naturally, we’re pleased any time an execution does not go forward in this climate of extreme dysfunction and doubt,” Smith said. “The (department) has some serious questions to answer before Ohioans can even begin to consider trusting our lethal injection procedure.”
The suspension for Lott’s execution followed a similar case in Louisiana this month, when a man’s execution was postponed for three months while the state examines drug combinations used in lethal injection.
Smith added that the Ohio Supreme Court has commissioned a task force to examine the state’s lethal injection protocol, and that the task force should be publishing its findings within the month.
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