The State of Ohio took decency to seldom-plumbed depths on Tuesday, September 15, with the attempted execution of 53-year-old Romell Broom.
Attempted execution? Yes, attempted. As in, they tried to do it and failed. They tried and tried again, for over two hours, unable to find a suitable vein. At length, the execution team itself had to take a break. The execution was delayed a week and Broom was returned to his holding cell.
The execution team had to take a break? Give us a break. If trying to kill a man for two hours and failing is not considered à ‚¬Ëœcruel and unusual,' under the Constitution or any other construction of decency, then that notion has no meaning in 21st-century America.
The state took its best shot and failed to deliver the coup de grace to Romell Broom. He should now be returned to a cell and allowed to live out his days in prison. I urge Governor Ted Strickland to commute his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
To be clear, I feel no compassion for this man, Romell Broom. He is not a good man. He richly deserves to die in prison for his crimes.
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