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Ohio man faces new execution mode Ohio man executed by single drug
(about 2 hours later)
A convicted Ohio man on death row is expected to become the first person in the US to be executed with a lethal, single-drug injection. The US state of Ohio has become the first in the country to carry out an execution with a single-drug injection, instead of a combination of three.
Kenneth Biros, 51, was sentenced to death for the murder of a 22-year-old woman in 1991. Kenneth Biros, 51, was put to death after the US Supreme Court denied his final appeal.
Ohio is the first US state to adopt the new method using a dose of thiopental sodium instead of a drug combination. Biros had been convicted of the murder of a 22-year-old woman in 1991.
Critics say the method, which may take twice as long to take effect, is human experimentation. Officials deny that. The new method was introduced because of concerns that prisoners could suffer extreme pain if the first of the usual three drugs fails to work effectively.
The new method is being introduced because it is alleged that prisoners can suffer extreme pain if the first drug of the trio normally administered fails to work effectively. Critics say the method - which uses a dose of thiopental sodium and can take twice as long to take effect - is human experimentation. Officials deny that.
'Experimental use''Experimental use'
The change of approach follows a failed attempt to execute a prisoner in Ohio in September, when officials struggled for two hours to try to find a suitable vein into which to inject the drugs.The change of approach follows a failed attempt to execute a prisoner in Ohio in September, when officials struggled for two hours to try to find a suitable vein into which to inject the drugs.
All executions were put on hold while another method was sought.All executions were put on hold while another method was sought.
LETHAL INJECTION Used in all 36 death penalty states in the USThree-in-one injection contains an anaesthetic, muscle paralyser and a heart stopperThe new jab contains a large dose of anaesthetic alone Lethal injection choice on trial LETHAL INJECTION Used in all 36 death penalty states in the USThree-in-one injection contains an anaesthetic, muscle paralyser and a heart stopperThe new injection contains a large dose of anaesthetic alone Lethal injection choice on trial
Should the single-drug method fail to work this time, officials will be able to inject other drugs directly into the muscles.
Ohio inmates have usually taken about seven minutes to die after receiving a lethal injection, the Associated Press news agency reports.Ohio inmates have usually taken about seven minutes to die after receiving a lethal injection, the Associated Press news agency reports.
But Julie Walburn, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, estimated it would take from 15 to 30 minutes for Biros to die using the new method. According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, it would take 15 to 30 minutes for prisoners to die using the new method, but it would be less painful.
Another official from the department brushed aside suggestions that the technique was experimental, as some activists have claimed. Officials rejected suggestions that the technique was experimental, noting its widespread use as an anaesthetic.
"It's not an experiment drug, it's used in existing protocol and it's used in hospitals all across this nation and in the world," Terry Collins said, referring to its application to anaesthetise patients ahead of surgery. "It's not an experiment drug, it's used in existing protocol and it's used in hospitals all across this nation and in the world," Terry Collins said.
Other states which have the death penalty are reported to be watching closely but some - including Florida, Kentucky, Texas and Virginia - have said they intend to keep the triple-drug method. Other states which have the death penalty were reported to be watching closely but some - including Florida, Kentucky, Texas and Virginia - have said they intend to keep the triple-drug method.
Of the 36 death penalty states which have lethal injection as a means of execution, all but Ohio use the three-drug method.Of the 36 death penalty states which have lethal injection as a means of execution, all but Ohio use the three-drug method.