Ohio inmate says he's too fat for execution

[Chi]

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press Writer

54 minutes ago

 

 

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio - 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.

 

Ohio inmate says he's too fat for execution

[Chi]

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press Writer

54 minutes ago

 

 

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio - 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.

 

Ohio inmate says he's too fat for execution

 

This pisses the hell outta me. Who gives a s h i t if they may experience pain, discomfort, etc. Did THEY give a s h i t about their victims' pain & discomfort when they committed their crimes against them?? What about their victims family members and loved ones? F u c k them! If anything, they SHOULD experience what they made their victims experience. They have some nerve! And why are we giving them the time of day to complain and waste more tax money on this crap?

 

They should put his fat ass on a strict diet and not give him any medicine for his "migraines headaches" then. Problem solved.

[Old Salt]

Maybe we should just let him eat himself to death?

[Anna Perenna]

They should put his fat ass on a strict diet and not give him any medicine for his "migraines headaches" then. Problem solved.

 

I agree! Why have they let him stay/get obese anyway? He's on death row, he should be eating nothing but kibble

[RoyalOrleans]

Well...

 

Put the fat bastard on a treadmill.

[snafu]

That's some pretty lame excuses. Keep sticking him until you do find a vein and then double the dose. Problem solved.

[ImWithStupid]

It's crap like this in my home state that leads to this kind of claim...

 

No prison stay for 5-foot-1 child molester

Too Short to go to Prison

 

Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 12:10:55 am CDT

 

SIDNEY — A man found guilty of sexually assaulting a child has been given 10 years of probation by a judge who said the man was too small to survive prison.

 

District Judge Kristine Cecava of Cheyenne County sentenced Richard W. Thompson, 50, Tuesday on two counts of sexually assaulting a minor.

 

“What you have done is absolutely inexcusable,” she said.

 

His crimes deserved a long sentence, Cecava said, but she expressed concern that the 5-foot-1 Thompson would be especially imperiled by prison dangers.

 

“Can I make other children safe from you?” the judge said. “You are a sex offender, and you did it to a child.”

 

But, she said, “That doesn’t make you a hunter. You do not fit in that category.

 

“I’m going to try to put together some kind of order to keep you out of prison.”

 

JournalStar.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - Local

 

and then a nebraska appeals court (in small caps because they don't deserve the respect) up holds it...

 

Nebraska Appeals Court Upholds Judge's Issuing Probation Instead of Jail Time for 5-Foot-1 Sex Offender

 

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

 

OMAHA, Neb. — A judge had valid reasons for sentencing a 5-foot-1 sex offender to probation, even though she cited the offender's height as part of her rationale, the Nebraska Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

 

An examination by a clinical psychologist and the results of a test used to determine the risk that Richard W. Thompson would reoffend both indicated that Thompson, 52, is neither a pedophile nor a sexual predator, the court said.

 

District Judge Kristine Cecava of Cheyenne County sentenced Thompson last year to 10 years of probation for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

 

"So I'm sitting here thinking this guy has earned his way to prison, but then I look at you and I look at your physical size. I look at your basic ability to cope with people and, quite frankly, I shake to think what might happen to you in prison because I don't think you'll do well in prison," Cecava said in court, according to a court transcript of the hearing.

 

FOXNews.com - Nebraska Appeals Court Upholds Judge's Issuing Probation Instead of Jail Time for 5-Foot-1 Sex Offender - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

[Chi]

It's crap like this in my home state that leads to this kind of claim...

 

 

 

JournalStar.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - Local

 

and then a nebraska appeals court (in small caps because they don't deserve the respect) up holds it...

 

 

 

FOXNews.com - Nebraska Appeals Court Upholds Judge's Issuing Probation Instead of Jail Time for 5-Foot-1 Sex Offender - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

 

GRrrr.... I remember that story.... Dumbass judge. Prison would have been the perfect punishment! He would get to experience what he put that girl through (and probably others). I swear, some judges should be held liable for their stupid rulings.

[emkay64]

Well...I say give it a whirl. They could just try a few times. What's the harm in that? Double the dose....whatever. He forfeitted his rights a long time ago. Look at him as experiment meat. That way they'll better know how to kill the next fat bastard more efficiently. Practice makes perfect.

[wez]

Well...I say give it a whirl. They could just try a few times. What's the harm in that? Double the dose....whatever. He forfeitted his rights a long time ago. Look at him as experiment meat. That way they'll better know how to kill the next fat bastard more efficiently. Practice makes perfect.

 

 

 

Guys full of crap, they make longer needles now just for people of, shall we say, size... It became economical when 75% of the US population became obese..

[emkay64]

Hey! In Calgary, we got our very first obese ambulance. It's so nice that we cater to everyone...don't you think?

[Chi]

Well...I say give it a whirl. They could just try a few times. What's the harm in that? Double the dose....whatever. He forfeitted his rights a long time ago. Look at him as experiment meat. That way they'll better know how to kill the next fat bastard more efficiently. Practice makes perfect.

 

There ya' go. He should make himself useful.

[RoyalOrleans]

Guys full of crap, they make longer needles now just for people of, shall we say, size... It became economical when 75% of the US population became obese..

 

Hmm... that's a very good point, wez.

 

Not to mention, the needles that are used on cattle and other large livestock.

[RoyalOrleans]

Hey! In Calgary, we got our very first obese ambulance. It's so nice that we cater to everyone...don't you think?

 

Please tell me that it has a hoist and crane.

[emkay64]

Sadly no.....'tis not the case...

[Guest sheik-yerbouti]

 

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 [/url]

 

So why not let the victims peel the bum, that wont affect his veins..

[eddo]

COLUMBUS, Ohio - 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.

 

I vote that they just shoot him in the head then.

 

 

And shoot the 5'1" child molester too.

[emkay64]

I vote that they just shoot him in the head then.

 

 

And shoot the 5'1" child molester too.

 

No. That is far too humane. He needs to suffer. They should go medieval on his ass. Cheap, but satisfying. They should bring back draw and quartering.

[RoyalOrleans]

I say we hang him! And then we kill him!