JURIST - Paper Chase: Ohio Supreme Court schedules executions despite review of lethal injection process

[JURIST] The Ohio Supreme Court [official website] set dates [announcement, PDF] Wednesday for two inmates to be executed by lethal injection [JURIST news archive], despite a temporary stay on executions in the state. Michael Bueke is scheduled to be executed on May 13 of next year, and Richard Nields is scheduled to be executed on June 10. Ohio's lethal injection process is currently under review after the failed execution of Romell Broom [JURIST report] in September, but Governor Ted Strickland expects the review process to be completed before the end of the year [press release].

Executions in Ohio have been postponed since September. Last month, a federal court delayed the execution of Kenneth Biros, and Strickland issued a temporary reprieve [JURIST reports] for Lawrence Reynolds and Darryl Durr. The controversy over Ohio's lethal injection procedures began when, during Broom's execution, officials failed on multiple attempts over two hours to find his vein for the lethal injection. A federal judge eventually issued an order delaying his execution.