execute Rommel Broom, in which Corrections Officials poked for over two hours but still failed to find a vein. After sending Broom back to death row, the state put other executions on hold while taking a look at its lethal injection procedures. They found it difficult to find medical personnel to consult with because professional and ethical rules generally prohibit the cooperation of qualified medical professionals. Despite this difficulty, Ohio has developed a new set of procedures, which abandons the use of three drugs that most states use for one mega-dose of anesthetic. Some have argued that this change does nothing to prevent another Rommel Broom debacle because it still relies on medically unqualified corrections officials to insert a line in a vein correctly. Ohio's response to this potential problem is a back-up, two-drug option injected in the muscle, even though there is no evidence of this method's reliability. The fact is both plans are untested, causing an outcry of "human experimentation." However, Ohio has determined that executions will resume. All of this misses the more important point. Regardless of how many or few drugs are used or where the needle is inserted, none of these procedures reduced the risk of an innocent person being executed. None of these address disparity or bad lawyers or any of the myriad other problems that plague the death penalty. The system is broken and the only true fix is to end the practice of the death penalty completely. Our Catholic Social Teaching tells us that all persons are sacred and we must respect all life from conception to natural death. Equal Justice USA is a national leader in the movement to halt executions. If you are interested in learning more about this organization or being added to their e-mail list, go to http://www.ejusa.org.[Source: St. Paul Social Justice Ministry]
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