This is the second
time this month Ohio has made me gasp.
This week, Romell
Broom was scheduled to be put death. He went into the chambers where he would be
injected with substances that would end his life. He lay on the table while they
prepped him, and then laid there for two hours while the technicians tried to
move forward with the procedure.
The technicians
failed. Romell returned to his cell. His execution was rescheduled for next
Tuesday.
Broom’s attorneys
filed appeals to stay or completely cancel his execution. They contend that one
week is not enough time to recover from the physical and emotional trauma of
last Tuesday’s events, and executing Broom would constitute cruel and unusual
punishment, a violation of the 8th Amendment. They also hope to prove
that Ohio’s lethal injection system itself constitutes cruel and unusual
punishment.
I’m indescribably
proud to live in a state that has already legally labeled the death penalty what
it is – cruel and unusual punishment. I’m also indescribably heartbroken that we
live in a country where some states have not outlawed the death penalty. It’s a
beautiful fall Friday afternoon in Maine, and suddenly I want to work ten times
harder to defend our Constitution.