ELYRIA — Defense attorneys for two accused killers challenging the legality of Ohio’s lethal injection process conceded earlier today that a single dose of a fast-acting sedative would be enough to humanely execute someone – as long as it’s done correctly.

The concession came during the second part of a hearing county Common Pleas Judge James Burge is holding to review whether the state’s execution protocols violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment and an Ohio law that requires executions to be quick and painless.

Jeff Gamso, an attorney for Ruben Rivera and Ronald McCloud, said he still plans to argue that the current three-drug cocktail could be painful for a condemned inmate if it’s not administered correctly.

But prosecutors aren’t buying the concession, saying that even if the state changed how it carries out executions death penalty opponents, including Gamso, will simply find fault with the new procedure.

“They will continue to complain and it doesn’t matter what we do,” Assistant County Prosecutor Tony Cillo said during the hearing.

Burge ordered both sides to provide written arguments on how he should rule.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Chronicle.

 

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