Ohio Is The First To Use Death Penalty Drug
May 13, 2011 | Government
Ohio became the frist state to put an inmate to death by injecting the sedative pentobarbital as the stand-alone execution drug. Johnnie Baston, 37 was sentenced to die for killing Chong-Hoon Mah, a South Korean immigrant who was shot in the back of the head. The 53 year-old victims relatives oppose the death penalty and the execution.
Baston was pronounced dead at 10:30 am about 13 minutes after the dose of the drug was administered. In his final statement Baston said the governor should have respected the opposition of his victim’s family to the death penalty and commuted his sentence to life without parole. Baston also said he made a bad decision and said he hoped both his family and that of his victim could move on. He asked his brothers, both of whom were witnesses, to watch out for his teenage children as they grow up.
Baston stayed up all night before the execution talking on the phone. Shortly after 7 a.m. he prayed with his daughter and his aunt, who adopted and raised him.
Ohio switched to pentobarbital as its execution drug after the company that made the drug it previously used, sodium thiopental, announced production was being discontinued. Oklahoma also uses pentobarbital, a barbiturate, but in combination with other drugs that paralyze inmates and stop their hearts.
States around the country have dwindling supplies of sodium thiopental, and several have looked for supplies overseas. The execution also comes just one day after Illinois repealed the death penalty, commuting the death sentences of 15 convicts to life sentences.
This article was written by: Cindy Peters
