Lethal Injection Case Dismissed as Untimely Filed

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a 1983 action filed by death row inmates against the governor of Ohio.  The inmates asserted that the method of lethal injection used by the State of Ohio may cause agonizing pain, and amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.  The Sixth Circuit held 2-1 that a death row inmate has two years from the date the Ohio Supreme Court ruled upon the prisoner's direct appeal to file a 1983 action challenging the method of execution.  The defense asserted that the time should instead be counted from the ruling on the last federal appeal.  The defense will request and en banc hearing, and if that fails, will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Cooey v. Strickland (Mar. 2, 2007), Case No. 05-4057,  See Judge Tosses Out Objection to Lethal Injection by Reginald Fields, The Plain Dealer, Mar. 2, 2007.