Obese Inmate Fights Execution

[MJS]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/ronald-post-obese-death-row-inmate-ohio_n_2249645.html

COLUMBUS, Ohio — At about 450 pounds, Ohio death row inmate Ronald Post is so fat that his executioners won't be able to find veins in his arms or legs for the lethal injection, and he might even break the death chamber gurney, his lawyers say.
If the state is forced to use a backup method that involves injecting the drugs directly into muscle, the process could require multiple doses over several hours or even days and result in a grueling and painful end, they say.
Post, who gained close to 200 pounds on death row, is trying to stave off execution Jan. 16 for the 1983 killing of a motel clerk during a robbery, arguing that because of his obesity, an attempt to put him to death would amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
State officials say Post, 53, can be humanely executed under both Ohio's usual method and the untested backup procedure. The warden at the prison where the death chamber is situated even tested the gurney by piling 540 pounds of weights on it for two hours.
Post has not presented "sufficient evidence demonstrating that his obesity or other physical conditions will present a substantial risk that his execution cannot be conducted in a humane and dignified manner," Assistant Attorney General Charles Wille said in court papers.

I know the death penalty has been talked about here many times, each with varying opinions. I thought it was interesting that some in this article are saying the man isn't a suitable candidate for the death penalty, while others say its not a problem, that there're other methods.

Thoughts?

Yes, upon first reading this, my thought was, "Yeah, ok, he's going to suffer. And..... Like the person that he killed and that persons family isn't suffering?!?!?!" But I know that isn't the right thing to say. I suppose he is a human too, probably shouldn't be subjected to overly harsh pain and suffering. In the end, I suppose life in prison is what it'll have to be, unless an alternative method is found.

 

[Buka]

How does one gain 200 pounds on death row? My tax dollars must be buying cookies wholesale.

As for the rest of his tribulations.....I personally, do not give a rat's rump.

 

[MJS]

How does one gain 200 pounds on death row? My tax dollars must be buying cookies wholesale.

As for the rest of his tribulations.....I personally, do not give a rat's rump.

LOL, yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The food is proportioned at each meal. I'd find it hard to believe that this guy is purchasing enough jumk from the prison store, to pack on this kind of weight. Certainly a sharp contrast to other inmates who spend much of their time working out.

 

[arnisador]

I'm not a fan of the death penalty--I'm fine with it in principle but in practice it's been a mess--but if we're going to do it, what's wrong with the firing squad?

 

[Blindside]

His weight wouldn't be an issue with a noose, in fact it would probably make it more humane...

 

[arnisador]

No, they explicitly ruled that out--courts have decided that if there's a risk of decapitation due to weight, hanging is a no-go.

 

[Takai]

No, they explicitly ruled that out--courts have decided that if there's a risk of decapitation due to weight, hanging is a no-go.

I say that as well. Would decapitation result in death? Ironic, in that I thought that is what they were attempting to do.

Let's just get Richard Simmons on this problem right away.

 

[Big Don]

I'm not a fan of the death penalty--I'm fine with it in principle but in practice it's been a mess--but if we're going to do it, what's wrong with the firing squad?

Bullets can only be used once, go back to hanging, rope can be used over and over. Really, hanging is the green option.
Decapitation worries? Use a bigger rope.

 

[Dirty Dog]

The concern about finding veins is spurious. I put lines in morbidly obese people all the time. Can you say "ultrasouns" and/or "central line"?
As for the cart... do it in his cell. Or on the floor.

 

[Tez3]

Bullets can only be used once, go back to hanging, rope can be used over and over. Really, hanging is the green option.
Decapitation worries? Use a bigger rope.

He could bring the house down...

 

[Aiki Lee]

Yeah what's wrong with the firing squad? Bullets are cheap.

 

[Tez3]

Yeah what's wrong with the firing squad? Bullets are cheap.

Ugh imagine the mess when the bullets hit all that fat! You'd have to pick your weapon well as that fat could act like a bullet proof vest lol, the bullets would enter with a sort of slurping sound.

 

[Big Don]

the bullets would enter with a sort of slurping sound.

I got the audio version of mental picture!
ewww...

Sounds like he deliberately gained a bunch of wait to avoid execution. Wrap a coil of water pipe around him and set his fat *** on fire, all that fat will burn for a while, boiling the water, turning a turbine, and generating electricity...

 

[Shuto]

Starve him to death. :shrug

 

[Uncle]

What's wrong with using an adrenaline needle and injecting it into his heart? Surely even if he's pretty fat it could reach through.

 

[Tez3]

What's wrong with using an adrenaline needle and injecting it into his heart? Surely even if he's pretty fat it could reach through.

Not enough to kill him though, just enough to make him run fast and faster and faster..........

 

[Dirty Dog]

What's wrong with using an adrenaline needle and injecting it into his heart? Surely even if he's pretty fat it could reach through.

Couple reasons:
1 - It ain't easy to kill someone with adrenaline.

2 - It aint anywhere near as easy to hit the heart with a needle as Hollywood would make you think. Especially in someone this big. Frankly, it would be easier to drop a central line in him and give him the regular execution drugs.

 

[Uncle]

I didn't mean use adrenaline, just the syringe. And I mean come on, there are plenty of humane ways to execute someone, the bolt gun they use for cattle for instance.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I didn't mean use adrenaline, just the syringe. And I mean come on, there are plenty of humane ways to execute someone, the bolt gun they use for cattle for instance.

The syringe would really need to have something in it...
And, again, it's a lot more difficult to hit the heart with a needle than you might think, especially in someone this large. Pericardiocentesis kits have a needle that's about 6" long, and in a moderately large patient and using ultrasound to guide it, it can be pretty close to buried before you get to the heart. There are pudendal needles (used for a particular type of OB anesthesia) that are longer, but they're too flexible for this.
I don't think you're going to have much luck convincing the general public (or the courts...) that hitting someone in the head with a hammer (which is essentially what a bolt gun does) is a humane method of execution.

 

[arnisador]

He was granted clemency by the governor--not on these grounds, but poor legal representation. It's over (which is what I assume the gov. wanted).