Deathly silence

Ohio’s death penalty became a very public issue last January, after the botched execution of Dennis McGuire. Executed with a two-drug combination — midazolam and hydromorphone — never tried before in the United States, McGuire, 53, took as long as 25 minutes to die, as he convulsed, gasped, and snorted.

Last February, Ohio postponed scheduled executions to review its procedures — one of several states to do so in 2014 because of protracted and apparently painful executions.

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A nationwide shortage of drugs traditionally used in lethal injections, such as pentobarbital, has forced states to look for alternative drugs — often with troubling results. In Oklahoma, a warden called the execution last April of Clayton Lockett “a bloody mess.” An execution in Arizona took nearly two hours while the prisoner gasped.

Pausing executions in Ohio was prudent. Since then, however, the administration of Gov. John Kasich has too often proceeded with ill-advised secrecy.

With the execution of Ronald Phillips of Summit County set for Feb. 11, the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction won’t say what steps it has taken to end a federal judge’s moratorium on executions and ensure that Phillips’ execution will be efficient, humane, and constitutional.

Last April, the department said it would use the same drugs in future executions that were used on McGuire, but in larger quantities. If that’s the plan, the administration needs to show why it believes increasing dosages will produce a better result. Asked about the issue by The Blade’s editorial page, spokesman JoEllen Smith said in an email: “If any changes are made to the execution policy, DRC will notify the court at least 30 days in advance of a scheduled execution, as we have done in the past.” She declined further comment.

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