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State Representative Jim Buchy
Anonymity for
Those Involved in Executions
A few months ago, I learned that state officials would not start
executions again until certain protections were in place to keep the
identity of those involved with the process private. What that means is
the drug manufacturers and the physicians who are involved with the
executions can rest easy knowing their names aren’t tied to the
execution. This is a big roadblock that we need to get past so that we
can begin the execution process again. The criminals on death row are
murderers and have been on death row for an average of 17 years. We
need to get this process moving so we don’t extend that timeframe.
Carrying out the court-ordered death penalty in the case of a heinous
murder is very important for providing legitimacy across the legal
system in Ohio. Potential criminals need to know that there will be
punishment for their crimes and in the case of a murderer; they need to
know that their punishment could very well be death.
Right now on death row, they are so slowed down that only a small
fraction of inmates have received their court-ordered executions
scheduled. This can be attributed to lawyers drawing out the process
and pushing back the dates.
The pharmaceutical companies that make and sell the chemicals used for
these executions may refuse to sell to the state anymore because they
want anonymity. House Bill 663 keeps the pharmacies anonymous when it
comes to their participation in the transactions that supply Ohio with
the lethal-injection drugs we use.
All too often, lawyers see opportunities to take advantage of other
people’s suffering. There are concerns that we may start seeing tort
involving private citizens and companies that were just carrying out
the will of the court system.
To carry out the lethal-injection process we need professionals who can
administer drugs and conduct the executions in a humanitarian manner.
Ensuring that their identity is protected will allow us to have the
best possible people involved with the process. This is the largest
step to restarting the capital punishment process and getting our
court-ordered executions started again.
Please give me your opinion on this topic and others in the news this
month by completing an online survey at tinyurl.com/buchydecember2014.
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