Single Drug Execution Used In Ohio

Today in Ohio the execution of Kenneth Biros took place and for the first time in the U.S. it was completed by a single drug method. He was sentenced to the death penalty for raping and brutally killing a woman in 1991. This execution was the first in Ohio since September because the governor put capital punishment on a hiatus due to a failed attempt to find a prisoners vein. This new one-drug method of capital punishment uses only one of the drugs, sodium thiopental, normally used three-drug method. Some people are concerned that using on this one drug, also used to euthanize animals, might keep the inmates alive enough to feel the end of the killing procedure.

In this CNN article, Biros's entire execution is described and many experts add their insights of the pros and cons of using this new way of capital punishment. He was the first but not the last to have only this one drug injected during the execution, although a two-drug injection was there for backup. There will be many more debates regarding this controversial topics, which should all be interesting.