Ohio: McGuire family attorney files suit to stop death penalty

Dennis McGuire

DAYTON — A Dayton law firm said it will file a federal lawsuit on behalf of the family of executed killer Dennis McGuire. They are seeking an injunction on the death penalty in Ohio claiming the execution of McGuire violated the eighth amendment of the U.S. constitution that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Attorney Jon Paul Rion was joined by the son and daughter of McGuire Friday morning. McGuire was executed Thursday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution after receiving intravenous injections of a pair of chemicals that had not previously been used in executions. His death took much longer than past executions and brought immediate claims of cruelty.

McGuire laid still for about five minutes after the drugs were administered, then his body started convulsing in an apparent attempt to breathe. The breaths ranged from shallow to a violent, raspy snore. The snorts were so loud his daughter covered her ears.

" It was the most awful moment in my life to witness my dad's execution," said McGuire's son, Dennis D. McGuire. "I can't think of any other way to describe it than torture."

McGuire was convicted of the 1989 rape and slaying of pregnant Preble County resident Joy Stewart.

Source: Dayton Daily News, January 17, 2014

Ohians To Stop Executions Press Release

This morning at 10:53 Dennis McGuire was pronounced dead at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. As customary, the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction called me to inform OTSE of the time of death. My phone rang at 10:56 am.

The initial reports were that Mr. McGuire died peacefully. However, we now understand that to be incorrect.

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Mr. McGuire struggled for air, just as attorneys arguing on McGuire's behalf opposing the use of the new, experimental chemicals warned would happen:

After being injected at 10:29 a.m., about four minutes later McGuire started struggling and gasping loudly for air, making snorting and choking sounds which lasted for at least 10 minutes. His chest heaved and his left fist clenched as deep, snorting sounds emanated from his mouth.

Ohio's new execution process became a little more transparent today. But we already know that the method of HOW we kill prisoners is not the point. It's that we kill them when we don't need to. Our state is no better off today for Dennis McGuire's death by suffocation.

Our hearts go out to the families of Joy Stewart and Dennis McGuire. We should also keep those in mind who witnessed the suffocation death of Dennis McGuire. They undoubtedly had a traumatic experience in Lucasville.

I encourage you to write a short letter to Governor Kasich to let him know your thoughts on today's events at Lucasville. His mailing address is:

Governor John R. Kasich
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 S. High Street
Columbus, OH 43215.
USA

Governor of Ohio Website: Contact the Governor

We will keep you informed of developments as they happen.

Kevin Werner
Executive Director
614-560-0654

(Source: Ohians To Stop Executions)

Indiana's governor turns down clemency request, says execution planned for Thursday will go forward

Indiana’s governor turned down a clemency request and says an execution planned for Thursday will go forward against a man who killed his girlfriend’s two children in 2010 Indiana's governor turned down a clemency request Monday and said an execution planned for this week would go forward for a man who set a fire that killed his girlfriend's two children in 2010. Gov. Mike Braun said he would follow the Indiana Parole Board's recommendation to let the death sentence stand for Jeffrey Weisheit. “The Indiana Department of Correction will continue preparations to carry out the court-ordered sentence of execution” Thursday, said Braun, a Republican.

Iran | 10 executed in Ahvaz, Isfahan, Karaj

Four prisoners, including an Afghan national, were executed at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. All four had been sentenced to death under Iran’s qisas (retributive justice) laws on murder charges. According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, one of the executed prisoners was identified as Gol Agha Eskandari, an Afghan national. Eskandari had been convicted of murder following a dispute between neighbors in the Khorasan Square area of Tehran in July 2024 and subsequently sentenced to death.

Indiana executes Jeffrey Weisheit

An Indiana man who admitted killing his girlfriend's two children was executed early Thursday in the first of three lethal injections scheduled for the same day in the U.S. Jeffrey Weisheit killed the children, ages 8 and 5, by setting fire to his girlfriend's house in the Evansville area in 2010. The remains of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch were recovered from the ruins of a fire at their home in the Evansville area. Alyssa’s body was in a closet. Caleb’s body was on a mattress, restrained with duct tape. A railroad flare was in his underwear, and another was under his body. The children’s mother, Lisa Lynch, was at work at the time. She was in a relationship with Weisheit, but it was breaking down, investigators said. Weisheit spent 13 years on death row after his conviction. Weisheit died at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. The lethal injection started just after midnight, and he was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m., according to Noelle Russell, ...

USA | 3 states to carry out rare triple execution this week

If all three executions are carried out as planned, it will be the second triple execution in the U.S. this year, reflecting an overall uptick in the death penalty since the beginning of 2025. Three states are planning to carry out a rare triple execution this week on Nov. 5. Indiana is set to execute Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, by lethal injection for the 2010 murders of his girlfriend's two children, 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and her 5-year-old brother, Caleb. The children were burned alive in their home.

Vigil planned ahead of high-profile Oklahoma inmate's execution

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — After the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied clemency for a high-profile death row inmate in Oklahoma, a local organization is protesting his execution. James Pavatt was sentenced to death for the 2001 murder of Rob Andrew, a 39-year-old Oklahoma City advertising executive and father of two. Evidence presented at Pavatt's trial showed that he began an affair with Andrew's wife, Brenda Andrew, in 2001. Prosecutors argued that the murder was especially cruel and that Pavatt killed Andrew for an $800,000 insurance policy.

Judge allows Tennessee death row inmates to include botched executions in lawsuit

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Two failed executions in Tennessee are now at the center of a growing legal battle over the state’s lethal injection protocol after a judge ruled in favor of death row inmates Friday. A Davidson County judge ruled death row inmates can expand their lawsuit to include new allegations stemming from the botched executions of Tony Carruthers and Christa Pike. The original lawsuit, filed in March 2025, argues Tennessee’s death penalty protocol violates the constitutional rights of death row inmates with complex medical conditions. More than one year later, the state then failed to execute two inmates: Tony Carruthers and Christa Pike.

Florida executes Jesse Guardado

Man convicted of 2004 killing is put to death in Florida’s 19th execution this year, tying a record Florida carried out a record-tying 19th execution of the year in an unusual instance of 3 states administering the death penalty on the same day. Jesse Guardado was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a 3-drug injection at a state prison in Starke. He had pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing 75-year-old Jackie Malone inside her Walton County home in 2004 before stealing her jewelry box, $80, and other valuables to buy drugs. The woman had helped him get a job and housing.

Indiana Parole Board hears testimony on clemency for man scheduled for Nov. 5 execution

Jeffrey Weisheit set his house on fire in 2010, killing his girlfriend’s two young children he was watching. The Indiana Parole Board will now make a recommendation in the coming days to Governor Mike Braun on whether to grant clemency to condemned killer Jeffrey Weisheit. Jeffrey is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Nov. 5 for the 2010 murder of his girlfriend's 2 children in Vanderburgh County.

Alabama executes Michael Shannon Taylor

Alabama executes man convicted of 1991 double murder The state of Alabama carried out the execution of 54-year-old Michael Shannon Taylor Thursday night for the 1991 murders of an elderly Etowah County couple, 35 years and 1 day after the crime. Taylor, convicted in 1993 on 3 counts of capital murder, was sentenced to death unanimously by a jury for killing 83-year-old Ivan Ernest Moore and 79-year-old Lucille Moore inside their Gadsden home during a robbery. Taylor was 19 at the time.

Newsom Commutes the Sentences of California’s 548 Death Row Inmates

Gov. Gavin Newsom, in one of his last acts, commuted the sentences of all prisoners with death sentences, calling capital punishment morally objectionable. That’s about 1/4 of death sentences nationwide. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California moved to spare the lives of all 548 prisoners on the state’s death row on Thursday in the largest mass commutation of death sentences in modern American history. Mr. Newsom said he made the decision because he finds capital punishment morally objectionable. He reduced every death sentence to life in prison without parole, a sweeping move that will require a review by the state’s highest court in some cases and could draw legal challenges.

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