A new documentary on the death penalty includes the work a federal public defender did on an Ohio execution that lasted 26 minutes while the inmate repeatedly gasped and snorted.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A new documentary on the death penalty includes the work a federal public defender did on an Ohio execution that lasted 26 minutes while the inmate repeatedly gasped and snorted.
"The Penalty" tells three capital punishment-related stories.
They include that of a recently exonerated death row inmate and a homicide victim's family trying to negotiate the legal system.
A third story examines the 2014 execution of Dennis McGuire using a never tried two-drug process that Ohio has since abandoned.
The film follows federal public defender Allen Bohnert during his unsuccessful fight to stop McGuire's execution.
Screenings are scheduled in several Ohio cities beginning Monday to include Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton and Columbus.
Death-Penalty Documentary Makes its Ohio Debut
A new documentary about the death penalty is coming to Ohio ahead of the state’s next scheduled execution on Feb. 13. The advocacy group Ohioans to Stop Executions is sponsoring screenings throughout the state.
“The Penalty” puts Ohio front and center in the death-penalty debate. It includes a look at the state’s checkered history with lethal injection drugs through the 2014 case of convicted murderer and rapist Dennis McGuire. The state used an experimental drug combination that appeared to cause McGuire to suffer and was slow to end his life.
Director Will Francome says he doesn’t want his film to be preachy, but he does want it to encourage debate.
"I think it's a good time to be discussing those things, especially since the last execution, of Alva Campbell, had complications as well," Francome said.
The film also questions some common arguments in favor of the death penalty.
“We’re often told that the death penalty is there to give victims closure," Francome said. "I learned that many people felt it hadn’t done that for them.”
Francome will conduct Q and A sessions after each screening.
Screenings in Northeast Ohio will be Monday at the University of Akron at 3 p.m. and John Carroll University at 7 p.m.
Source: The Associated Press,
wksu.org, January 21, 2018
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