Man Too Fat For Death Penalty

 

Gold Member
Username: Livin_loud

Post Number: 2550
Registered: Jan-06
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.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Wingmanalive

A pic is worth 1000 posts!!

Post Number: 17706
Registered: Jun-06
"His attorneys say a drug he is taking for migraine headaches could affect the execution process."


I have several issues with that but will leave them on the shelf.



"All of the experts agree if the first drug doesn't work, the execution is going to be excruciating,"


Sounds great to me. Raping and killing two young women sounds just as excruciating. Not to mention they didn't live to have a lawyer defend them did they?



We as a species should be ashamed of ourselves.

 

Gold Member
Username: Philly306

James Carrol is the re...

Post Number: 1246
Registered: Apr-07
x2 Paul Its sad that people will defend this guy.

Since he's fat and is at risk of "excrutiating pain" he sound like a perfect canidate for a hanging to me?

But I'm sure he and his lawyer could make up some bogus reason to get out of this as well(if hanging were legal of course)

It's just sad.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Loudnproud

Post Number: 35
Registered: Jul-08
excruciating pain? hmmm
maybe death by firing squad?
 

Gold Member
Username: Stefanom

Vienna, VA United States

Post Number: 1252
Registered: Apr-06
So force his fat @ss on a diet for a couple months...

Or try the gas chamber.
 

Gold Member
Username: Shortysetnies

Rock Vegas, NC US

Post Number: 2727
Registered: Mar-06
eh just quit feeding him and make him exercise a few hours a day.
1. We would save tax money on food
2. Maybe he would die or starvation which would save us money too
3. If he didn't die of starvation, he lose enough weight to find his veins

Or tell him he should've thought of all the consequences before her raped/killed them and he's SOL.
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