Execution Of Sick Inmate Called Off Due To IV Issues
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LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) - Ohio's prisons director says he called off the execution of a condemned killer after members of the state's execution team told him they couldn't find a vein to insert an IV.
Prison chief Gary Mohr says the team made several attempts Wednesday to find a spot on 69-year-old inmate Alva Campbell to administer the lethal drugs and that they handled it humanely.
Members of the Ohio execution team tried to find veins in Campbell's arms and right leg for about 25 minutes before stopping.
This was only the third time in U.S. history that an execution has been called off after the process has begun.
Mohr says Campbell will be sent back to death row and that there will be some consideration for a future execution date.
The Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union immediately afterward called for moratorium on executions in the state.
Another organization, Ohioans to Stop Executions, says the state had been warned that the 69-year-old Campbell's health issues were likely to cause problems.
Campbell was due to be executed for a carjack killing of an 18-year-old in 1997.
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