Lethal injection bill headed for Ohio Senate vote
Source: Associated Press
Lethal injection bill headed for Ohio Senate vote
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, AP Legal Affairs Writer | December 11, 2014 | Updated: December 11, 2014 3:32pm
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio lawmakers on Thursday rushed to pass a lethal injection law meant to restart executions even as prosecutors who want a condemned child killer executed in February say they're confident the procedure won't happen as scheduled.
The legislation will undoubtedly lead to court challenges that will make putting death row inmate Ronald Phillips to death on Feb. 11 impossible, said Brad Gessner, chief counsel for the Summit County Prosecutor's office.
A Dec. 1 court filing by the office said the chances of Phillips' execution happening were "nil."
"We're at that point that regardless of what is done with the law, the opponents of this punishment will do whatever they feel they need to do to delay this," Gessner said Thursday. Phillips' attorneys declined comment.
Phillips, 41, was sentenced to die for raping and killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter in Akron in 1993.
The legislation up for a final Senate vote Thursday would shield the names of companies that provide lethal injection drugs to Ohio, a provision that supporters say is necessary to obtain supplies of the drugs by protecting drugmakers from harassment.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Prosecutor-chances-of-February-execution-nil-5949548.php
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