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Ohio Death Row Inmate Challenges Execution on the Basis That He Is Allergic To Anesthesia

Ohio death row inmate Darryl Durr has filed a novel challenge to his scheduled execution: he claims to be allegic to the anesthesia used in lethal injection.

Durr insists that, given his allergy, it is not clear how he will react to the anesthesia. The state has filed papers saying that there is no record of such an allergy in his past and that he appeared to have previously been given the drug without complications.

The allergic reaction to such anesthesia is reduced breathing and low blood pressure, but an expert insists that this is not particularly troubling when you are being executed. Mark Dershwitz, a University of Massachusetts professor and physician, told the state: “Such effects are irrelevant in the context of an execution because they would occur after the inmate loses consciousness and because the intent is to bring about a rapid death.”

U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost predictably ruled against him, finding the claim was unproven and thus not a ground for delay of the execution.

Durr is scheduled to be executed on April 20 for the 1988 rape and murder of 16-year-old Angel Vincent of Elyria, Ohio. He has also demanded DNA testing, here.

For the full story, click here.

6 thoughts on “Ohio Death Row Inmate Challenges Execution on the Basis That He Is Allergic To Anesthesia”

  1. I find this ingenius, the challenge is so ridiculous, so utterly stupid, they just might have thought he was mentally retarded…

  3. Gingerbaker, Fred Astairs face,

    That was quoted someplace else I believe. Still funny after all these years.

  4. Reminds me a little of the joke about the guy who murdered his parents, then pleaded for mercy because he was an orphan.

  5. I am also opposed to the death penalty but, considering the magnitude of his crime, the fact that he’s been alive for over 20 years after murdering the child, this dude is a real whiner.

  6. Kinda like bitching about being hung with a new rope. Although, I am generally opposed to the death penalty this meets two of the three things, rape of a minor and murder. Child abuse even without death merits the death penalty in as much it leaves long lasting scars.

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