I'll wait while y'all read this story.
Ohio inmate says he's too fat for execution
Monday, August 4, 2008 6:24 PM EDT The Associated Press ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A death row inmate scheduled for execution says he's too fat to be put to death, claiming executioners would have trouble finding his veins and that his weight could diminish the effectiveness of one of the lethal injection drugs.
Lawyers for Richard Cooey argue in a federal lawsuit that Cooey — 5-feet-7 and 267 pounds — had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and the problem has been worsened by weight gain.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, also says prison officials have had difficulty drawing blood from Cooey for medical procedures.
Cooey, 41, is sentenced to die for raping and murdering two young women in 1986. His execution is scheduled for Oct. 14.
His attorneys say a drug he is taking for migraine headaches could affect the execution process. The drug Topamax, a type of seizure medication, may have created a resistance to thiopental, the drug used to put inmates to sleep before two other lethal drugs are administered, Dr. Mark Heath, a physician hired by the Ohio Public Defender's Office, said in documents filed with the court.
Heath says Cooey's weight, combined with the potential drug resistance, increases the risk he would not be properly anesthetized.
"All of the experts agree if the first drug doesn't work, the execution is going to be excruciating," Cooey's public defender, Kelly Culshaw Schneider, said Monday.
Prison system spokeswoman Andrea Carson and Jim Gravelle, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General's Office, both said Monday they hadn't seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment.
Last year, Carson cited the obesity of condemned inmate Christopher Newton as one of the reasons prison officials had difficulty accessing his veins before his execution. Newton was 6 feet tall and weighed 265 pounds.
Two years ago, convicted killer Jeffrey Lundgren was put to death after a federal appeals court rejected his claim that he was at greater risk of experiencing pain and suffering because he was overweight and diabetic.
Now, what I wanna know is:
How many of you medical-type peeps who read this blog will VOLUNTEER to go to Ohio next October, assuming the Supremes don't give Mr. Roly Poly a stay, and find a vein. Oh, and calculate the proper dosage based on his body weight to sedate him so he doesn't "suffer" cruel and unusual punishment prior to his actual execution. Y'all know, like his VICTIMS did while he was rapin' and murderin' them!
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10 comments:
Send me, I'm so rusty at stickin' a vein, by the the time I've got him hooked up, he'll be ready to commit suicide just to keep from havin' to try again.
Besides that, a bullet to the back of the head is considered to be "humane" for a rabid dog, why not for a rapist?
I have a really nice .22 that I could notch the grips.
Why is this guy even getting Topamax? Topamax is an expensive drug. I have a hard time paying for this drug for my own migraines. To think that my tax dollars could be paying for someone on death row to take it makes me sick. Take the guy off it, then the resistance issue won't be a problem.
No problem! I'm am in the medical field. Ever heard of a CENTRAL LINE! They put it in the subclavian vein for people with hard to stick veins!. Do this and be assured that they won't miss. Then give him an extra dose of the first drug just to make sure it works. If it doesn't? Shoot him up anyway.I doubt his victim's were given the same consideration he feels HE deserves! AND we won't have to worry about feeding the glutton with our tax money.
to DW:
he's too fat for a little .22 but I think a firing squad should seriously be considered if our death row inmates are too obese for lethal injection to be humane. What about putting him on a diet when the execution date is nearing?
I knew this kind of thing was gonna start cropping up after SCOTUS put those two executions in Kentucky on hold. Those losers claimed that sometimes folks don't get fully sedated and maybe might could possibly feel the next drugs coming in.
Get ready for more BS like this to make headlines. Just like after Heller, folks will take a SCOTUS decision and spread it thin.
tweaker
I say bring back the guillotine! I've read that it's one of the more humane forms of execution... and we all want to make sure that we treat our death row inmates in the kindest of all manners - would hate for them to suffer for all of the atrocities that they were convicted of committing.
Oh GIVE--ME--A--BREAK. You know, that's why obese people can't ever be in car wrecks or require surgery or have an MI or stroke or..or..or..all that shit, because health care professionals are so incompetent that we can't start an IV on them. What a moron. Let me at him.
Oh heavens, someone mentioned the dreaded D word. Gracious, we can't put inmates on a diet, that would be cruel and inhumane, don't cha know?
Let him eat what he wants, let him take his drugs, we certainly wouldn't want him to stress while he's awaiting execution. Then if they can't start an IV or put him to sleep, THEN he can file his lawsuit. But I'll be betting on the side that says it won't be a problem.
Hells bells. Who's paying for this shit?
Heh. That deserves a brief blog post of my own.
But would saying bullshit here suffice to describe what I think of his argument?
This seems so perfectly absurd that I'm in a quandary as to what to do about him. Send him to boot camp and exercise him to death?
My name is Melissa Dunn and i would like to show you my personal experience with Topamax.
I am 34 years old. Have been on Topamax for 4 weeks now. week 1- 25mg in PM, week 2- 50 mg in PM, week 3- 75mg in PM----still at 75mg and is working well. in the 1st week I had 4 migraines and I have not had a migraine since and I am doing well. I think I found a good dosage. I have lost 1 lb a week on Topamax, but that is not a negative side effect for me. I was on Relpax before and it worked well, but with insurance 6 pills were $30 and I was going thru 6 pills quickly.
I have experienced some of these side effects -
soda taste bad, tingling in toes and fingers, tired
I hope this information will be useful to others,
Melissa Dunn
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