Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A condemned killer whose poor veins led Ohio to halt his execution has appealed a judge’s decision upholding the state’s lethal injection system.
Death row inmate Alva Campbell argues that Ohio’s process raises an unconstitutional risk of serious harm because the first of three drugs may not render inmates completely unconscious.
Lawyers for Campbell and fellow death row inmate Raymond Tibbetts announced the appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
Federal Judge Michael Merz rejected the inmates’ arguments earlier this month.
Ohio prisons director Gary Mohr stopped Campbell’s execution Nov. 15 after executioners said they couldn’t find usable veins.
Campbell has a new execution date in June 2019.
Tibbetts is scheduled to die Feb. 13 for fatally stabbing a Cincinnati man in 1997.