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Biden Fails a Death Penalty Abolitionist’s Most Important Test

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The mystery of Joe Biden’s views about capital punishment has finally been solved. His decision to grant clemency to 37 of the 40 people on federal death row shows the depth of his opposition to the death penalty. And his decision to leave three of America’s most notorious killers to be executed by a future administration shows the limits of his abolitionist commitment. The three men excluded from Biden’s mass clemency—Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers—would no doubt pose a severe test of anyone’s resolve to end the death penalty. Biden failed that test.
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Ohio DR inmate Romell Broom "can fight second execution attempt"

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Romell Broom
A death row inmate who underwent a botched execution attempt can continue to argue that a 2nd try would be an unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost denied a motion by the state to dismiss the challenge against another lethal injection attempt on Romell Broom. The inmate also can continue arguing that he should have access to attorneys during any future execution attempt that might go awry, the judge ruled.

Broom's execution last year was stopped by Gov. Ted Strickland after an execution team tried for 2 hours to find a suitable vein. Broom has said he was stuck with needles at least 18 times, with pain so intense that he cried and screamed.

Broom was sentenced to die for the 1984 rape and slaying of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton after abducting her in Cleveland as she walked home from a Friday night football game with 2 friends.

Broom's attorney, Adele Shank, said she was pleased with the decision and had expected the judge would recognize that Broom's Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment was "really called into question."

The state opposes canceling a second execution try. Ted Hart, a spokesman for the Ohio attorney general's office, said the judge "simply held that Broom's claim is plausible enough to survive immediate dismissal."

After trying to execute Broom, the state added a backup method that allows executioners to inject two drugs directly into muscle if a usable vein cannot be found. The addition was part of an overall protocol change that also switched the IV injection from 3 drugs to 1.

Source: Associated Press, August 27, 2010
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