Ohio was unable to execute a convicted killer yesterday, even with his help, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. After an execution team spent two hours trying to find a useable vein on Romell Broom's arms and legs, Gov. Ted Strickland ordered a week's reprieve for the 53-year-old convicted rapist-murderer. The parents and aunt of Tryna Middleton – who was fatally stabbed in 1984 – watched silently as prison nurses struggled to keep Broom's veins open for a lethal mix of chemicals to execute him.
There were so many logistical problems that Broom was never moved to the injection table in the adjoining death chamber. The Middletons and four news reporters watched the process via television monitors as prison staff tried to hook Broom to tubes in preparation for lethal injection. The problems prompted the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio call for a halt to executions. “With three botched executions in as many years, it's clear that the state must stop and review the system entirely before another person is put to death,” ACLU Ohio counsel Carrie Davis said.