Too Fat for Execution..

[JustLikeHeaven]

Since the death penalty is always a heavily debated issue here, I found this to be interesting. Thoughts?!

Aug 5, 1:12 AM EDT

Ohio inmate says he's too fat for execution

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A death row inmate scheduled for execution says he's too fat to be put to death, claiming executioners would have trouble finding his veins and that his weight could diminish the effectiveness of one of the lethal injection drugs.

Lawyers for Richard Cooey argue in a federal lawsuit that Cooey - 5-feet-7 and 267 pounds - had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and the problem has been worsened by weight gain.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, also says prison officials have had difficulty drawing blood from Cooey for medical procedures.

Cooey, 41, is sentenced to die for raping and murdering two young women in 1986. His execution is scheduled for Oct. 14.

His attorneys say a drug he is taking for migraine headaches could affect the execution process. The drug Topamax, a type of seizure medication, may have created a resistance to thiopental, the drug used to put inmates to sleep before two other lethal drugs are administered, Dr. Mark Heath, a physician hired by the Ohio Public Defender's Office, said in documents filed with the court.

Heath says Cooey's weight, combined with the potential drug resistance, increases the risk he would not be properly anesthetized.

"All of the experts agree if the first drug doesn't work, the execution is going to be excruciating," Cooey's public defender, Kelly Culshaw Schneider, said Monday.

Prison system spokeswoman Andrea Carson and Jim Gravelle, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General's Office, both said Monday they hadn't seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment.

Last year, Carson cited the obesity of condemned inmate Christopher Newton as one of the reasons prison officials had difficulty accessing his veins before his execution. Newton was 6 feet tall and weighed 265 pounds.

Two years ago, convicted killer Jeffrey Lundgren was put to death after a federal appeals court rejected his claim that he was at greater risk of experiencing pain and suffering because he was overweight and diabetic.

[ShaE]

of all the retarded reasons to cease an execution lol

on another note, my bf is on topamax for his migraines

[JustLikeHeaven]

of all the retarded reasons to cease an execution lol

on another note, my bf is on topamax for his migraines

When I first saw the headline I was expecting like 500 lbs he is 267 that's not HUGE lol.

[ShaE]

When I first saw the headline I was expecting like 500 lbs he is 267 that's not HUGE lol.

no, not that huge, but i think we're roughly about that height and we'd be packing some serious pounds at that weight lol

that's short for a guy.

[JustLikeHeaven]

no, not that huge, but i think we're roughly about that height and we'd be packing some serious pounds at that weight lol

that's short for a guy.

Omg good point lmao. I'm only an inch shorter than him and not even half that weight.

In any case though I oppose the DP as it is, although not out of compassion for such people who commit these kinds of heinous crimes. However, in this case I think this would definitely qualify as cruel/unusual punishment, considering they are saying all experts agree he would be in serious pain. Granted he is a piece of shit for doing what he did, but I just can't justify anyone having the right to make a decision of that magnitude.

[Benny B]

easy solution... take bullet ..costs .05 cents.. load gun.. pull trigger at temple.. problem solved

[ShaE]

My misgivings about the death penalty are the same as yours, not compassion for true murderers, but worry for those that are wrongly executed, who can never be exonerated of their crimes b/c they're dead.

But if you have to execute someone, I don't know who came up with the lethal injection bit. I'd much rather get shot in the head 100%, no suffering, no two ways about it.

Electrocution can get very nasty, injections can be botched, I'd definitely take the bullet over either.

In this guy's case though, I'm torn b/c if you are guilty of the crime, and you've been sentenced to death, I really don't know if the pain he'd experience would qualify as suffering enough to have to alter the method. I don't really care if a murderer suffers a bit when dying, torture is one thing, but a bit of pain? It's fuzzy for me. The person they killed didn't get any such consideration, why should we bend over backwards to make sure they experience ZERO discomfort? Like I said, I'm against conscious torture, but going all out to prevent any pain? A bit too much IMO.

[John Kennedy]

Why don't they just up the dose lol

[just jess]

just cut his head off

[LiTtLeE OnEe]

why dont they star rationing this guys food so he'll lose some weight, then they can kill him

[Jarmz]

Why don't they just up the dose lol

So now inmates on death row are gonna start trying to pile on the pounds

[ShaE]

why dont they star rationing this guys food so he'll lose some weight, then they can kill him

i'm pretty sure prison meals are rationed anyway. not like this guy can go raid the fridge when he wants to lol

[So Deeva]

they should just starve him to death

[JustLikeHeaven]

Elise!

In regards to what u said Shae, I do agree with u that if he is in fact guilty, we shouldn't be terribly concerned with whether he feels a little pain or not. But on the flip side, what if he isn't?

If we make it acceptable to do this, what if one day a person who is wrongfully executed has to suffer through this? So then not only are they wrongfully put to death, but they have to endure pain as well...where is the justice in that?

[ShaE]

Elise!

In regards to what u said Shae, I do agree with u that if he is in fact guilty, we shouldn't be terribly concerned with whether he feels a little pain or not. But on the flip side, what if he isn't?

If we make it acceptable to do this, what if one day a person who is wrongfully executed has to suffer through this? So then not only are they wrongfully put to death, but they have to endure pain as well...where is the justice in that?

i agree. if you incarcerate someone you can always release them if their innocence is proven down the line. if you execute them, you have zero room for error and there is no way to ensure every person sentenced to death is 100% guilty. inevitably there will be some amt of innocent people killed.

i can't really say any amt is an acceptable amt.

[JustLikeHeaven]

i agree. if you incarcerate someone you can always release them if their innocence is proven down the line. if you execute them, you have zero room for error and there is no way to ensure every person sentenced to death is 100% guilty. inevitably there will be some amt of innocent people killed.

i can't really say any amt is an acceptable amt.

Exactly.

[John Kennedy]

Dna

[Mothahen]

Hey he was probably fat when he commited such crimes he can be fat when he dies

[JustLikeHeaven]

Dna

DNA has def been helpful in exonerating and freeing prisoners before execution...BUT it still doesn't completely make an execution fool-proof because not every case has DNA evidence available. What about those cases where it's been destroyed or never was left on the scene of the crime...that still leaves way too much room for error.

[Lushheaven]

this reminds me of when Eduard was executed in the Green Mile.. one of the most disturbing scenes in a movie i have ever seen