Ohio considering new (and novel) method of lethal injection

This new AP article, which is headlined "State might try new lethal-injection sites," suggests that Ohio is seriously talking about a whole new approach to lethal injection in the wake of its failed execution attempt last month.  Here are some of the particulars:

Ohio is considering administering lethal drugs into inmates' bone marrow or muscles as an alternative to -- or a backup for -- the traditional intravenous execution procedure, a prisons department spokeswoman said today. "Everything is on the table" as the state researches ways to adjust its death chamber procedure in the wake of a failed execution last month, when officials couldn't locate suitable veins on inmate Romell Broom, said Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman Julie Walburn....

The changes could include a different procedure to access veins, the use of a device to inject lethal chemicals directly into an inmate's bone marrow, or injection into muscles....

Richard Dieter, director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, said he isn't aware of any other states that have considered, or currently use, injections into bone marrow or muscle as part of their protocol....

Ohio officials also are exploring whether to keep the state's three-drug regimen -- a sedative, a paralyzing agent and a chemical to stop the heart -- or to rely on a single drug, Walburn said. It could be used as a backup if officials encounter difficulty locating veins, or as a new procedure to replace the old one.

It would, of course, be very significant if Ohio were to start to pioneer a whole new approach to lethal injection protocols.  And such a new approach would, in all likelihood, prompt a whole new round of constitutional litigation of the protocol's constitutionality.

Some recent related posts on Ohio lethal injection issues:

• Ohio struggling, legally and practically, with effort to execute offender
• Details on the botched Ohio execution attempt, issue spotting, and seeking predictions
• Will (and when and how will) SCOTUS have to weigh in on Ohio's desire to try execution again?
• Federal hearing about constitutionality of Ohio's re-execution attempt pushed back months
• Ohio Supreme Court asked to stay next scheduled execution in wake of botched attempt
• Ohio Supreme Court refuses to block next Ohio execution
• Split Sixth Circuit panel stays next scheduled Ohio execution
• NEWSFLASH: Ohio Governor puts all state executions on hold until at least Dec. 2009