A death row inmate scheduled for execution in October says he’s so fat that Ohio 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 argued in a federal lawsuit that Cooey had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and that the problem has been worsened by weight gain. They cite a document filed by a prison nurse in 2003 that said Cooey had sparse veins and that executioners would need extra time.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Columbus, also says prison officials have had difficulty drawing blood from Cooey for medical procedures. Cooey is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 267 pounds, according to the lawsuit.
Now, Mr. Cooey is too fat (using his own words) to be executed, but I notice that Mr. Cooey wasn’t too fat (again, using his own words) to rape and murder two female University of Akron students in 1986. Fat stops executions but not rape and murder, at least, according to Mr. Cooey.
Mr. Cooey’s public defender, Kelly Culshaw Schneider, said Monday, “All of the experts agree if the first drug doesn’t work, the execution is going to be excruciating.”
One question I’d like to ask Ms. Culshaw Schneider: “So what?”
Ms. Culshaw Schneider, I wonder how the two young college students felt as they were being raped? Wonder how it felt to be murdered by your client? Wonder how their families have felt since 1986 watching your fat client gain one stay of execution after another?
Stories like this make me angry. Yes, we are all entitled to our day in court and we should all have proper representation, but come on! Twenty-two years of this stuff? Give me a break!
Lawyers for Richard Cooey argued in a federal lawsuit that Cooey had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and that the problem has been worsened by weight gain. They cite a document filed by a prison nurse in 2003 that said Cooey had sparse veins and that executioners would need extra time.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Columbus, also says prison officials have had difficulty drawing blood from Cooey for medical procedures. Cooey is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 267 pounds, according to the lawsuit.
Now, Mr. Cooey is too fat (using his own words) to be executed, but I notice that Mr. Cooey wasn’t too fat (again, using his own words) to rape and murder two female University of Akron students in 1986. Fat stops executions but not rape and murder, at least, according to Mr. Cooey.
Mr. Cooey’s public defender, Kelly Culshaw Schneider, said Monday, “All of the experts agree if the first drug doesn’t work, the execution is going to be excruciating.”
One question I’d like to ask Ms. Culshaw Schneider: “So what?”
Ms. Culshaw Schneider, I wonder how the two young college students felt as they were being raped? Wonder how it felt to be murdered by your client? Wonder how their families have felt since 1986 watching your fat client gain one stay of execution after another?
Stories like this make me angry. Yes, we are all entitled to our day in court and we should all have proper representation, but come on! Twenty-two years of this stuff? Give me a break!
