COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A federal appeals court will hear arguments Tuesday over the constitutionality of Ohio’s lethal injection process as the state tries to start carrying out executions once again.
At issue is whether a contested sedative, midazolam, is powerful enough to put inmates into a deep state of unconsciousness before two subsequent drugs paralyze them and stop their hearts.
A related issue is whether Ohio has a realistic chance of finding an alternative drug – a barbiturate called pentobarbital – that once was widely used in executions but has become difficult or, in Ohio’s case, impossible to obtain.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati scheduled arguments for Tuesday. The court’s ruling, likely in a few weeks, will be closely watched not just in Ohio but in other states that use midazolam or might be looking to try it.
The case reached the court after Ohio appealed a federal judge’s ruling that rejected the state’s current three-drug method.