By Stephen Majors
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An attorney for an Ohio inmate whose lethal injection failed this week has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the unprecedented second execution attempt scheduled for Tuesday.
Romell Broom’s attorney Tim Sweeney filed an application Friday asking the court to review an earlier decision that prohibited Broom from joining an ongoing federal lawsuit against Ohio’s lethal injection procedure.
Gov. Ted Strickland stopped Broom’s execution after executioners tried unsuccessfully for two hours to find a usable vein. Broom told his attorneys he was pricked as many as 18 times.
Lawyers plan to file state and federal lawsuits Friday arguing a second execution attempt would violate Broom’s civil rights. Broom was convicted in the 1984 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl.