death penalty news May 3, 2005
CONNECTICUT: Ross execution delayed by two days The state Supreme Court has postponed the execution of serial killer Michael Ross until May 13, again delaying New England's first scheduled execution in 45 years. The 48-hour postponement will allow the court to conduct a Thursday hearing to consider if Hartford attorney Thomas Groark can appeal a lower court's decision that Ross is mentally competent to forgo his appeals and expedite his execution. Groark has asked the state's highest court to overturn a Superior Court ruling that found Ross mentally competent to voluntarily accept his death sentence. Groark was appointed by Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford to argue during a competency hearing that Ross is mentally unfit. Groark has asked the Supreme Court to allow him to continue that role during the appeals process and to postpone the May 11 lethal injection until his appeal can be heard. The high court agreed to postpone the execution for two more days to deal with Groark's appeal. The Office of Chief State's Attorney, in a response filed Monday, argues that Groark has no standing to appeal, and that his participation the case ended when Clifford last month found Ross to be competent. "We believe the courts have litigated this issue many times and Mr. Ross is competent. Accordingly, attorney Groark's job is done," Chief State's Attorney Christopher Morano said. (source:AP / WFSB) KENTUCKY: Expert: Kentucky's Execution Method Humane The drugs and procedures used by Kentucky to execute condemned inmates by lethal injection provide a humane death, an expert in anesthesiology and drugs testified Monday. Dr. Mark Dershwitz said the drugs Kentucky uses would put an inmate to sleep, paralyze them and kill them without causing undue pain or suffering. "It's no different than undergoing a general anesthetic for surgery," Dershwitz said. The observation is starkly different than the version portrayed by attorneys for two Death Row inmates, who claim lethal injection produces an excruciating death from the beginning efforts to insert an IV needle to the burning sensation caused by the drug that stops the heart. The execution of Thomas Clyde Bowling, who was sentenced to death for killing a Lexington couple in 1990, was delayed in November 2004 after questions were raised about whether lethal injection amounted to unconstitutionally cruel punishment. Ralph Baze, who is facing his own execution for killing two Powell County law enforcement officers, has also joined the suit. Lethal injection has been used in Kentucky only once, to execute Eddie Lee Harper in May 1999. The three drugs used in Harper's execution are basically the same as used in every other state with lethal injection procedures. The only difference for future executions in Kentucky is a higher dose of the first drug to anesthetize the inmate. Dershwitz said each of the three drugs Kentucky uses would kill someone in the doses the state uses. Public defender Ted Shouse said the paralyzing drug actually could mask the reactions of an inmate who was not sufficiently unconscious during the procedure. Corrections Department attorney Jeff Middendorf said public defenders want the paralyzing drug removed so that inmates would show muscle spasms when the killing drug is administered. That way, witnesses would see an execution where the inmate reacted violently and it would raise public revulsion for the death penalty, Middendorf said. "It's about public perceptions, it's not about the science," Middendorf said. Middendorf also said legal challenges to the fatal drug combination have failed in other states, which all use virtually the same recipe. Shouse said the state does not take adequate precautions to determine if an inmate is fully unconscious, has inadequate safeguards and procedures for inserting the IV needle and has done no independent evaluation of the drug combination. "The risk of unconstitutional suffering is a genuine issue of material fact," Shouse said. Dershwitz was the only witness called by the Corrections Department to counter several witnesses for the inmates. The proceedings could resume next week if the lawyers for the inmates call rebuttal witnesses. Franklin County Circuit Judge Roger Crittenden, who halted Bowling's execution until the case could be resolved, said he would rule as soon as possible once all the witnesses and legal briefs are finished. The case is almost certain to be reviewed by the Kentucky Supreme Court. (source: AP / LEX18)
