Three federal death row inmates who contend in a lawsuit that lethal injections are painful have been granted a stay of execution, court records show.
U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle ordered a preliminary injunction Feb. 24, barring the Bureau of Prisons from executing James H. Roane Jr., Richard Tipton and Cory Johnson.
The three co-defendants had been scheduled to die in May at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, home to the nation’s federal death row. The trio were sentenced to die after being convicted in a string of drug-related murders in Richmond, Va.
“Any news like this is good,” said Stephen Northup, an attorney who represents Tipton. But “it’s really just temporary relief.”
A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons confirmed the delay Monday, and declined further comment.
This case marks at least the sixth since January in which executions have been delayed after inmates have raised legal challenges about the lethal injection process, according to information on Death Penalty Information Center’s Web site.
At least six other men, included one from Indiana, have been executed in the same time period.
The injunction in the federal death case is indefinite, until further order of the court. In her ruling, Huvelle also stayed the three men’s federal lawsuit on the constitutionality of lethal injections, pending a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in a Florida case.
In that case, death row inmate Clarence Edward Hill is suing the state of Florida, alleging that lethal injection would violate his constitutional protection from cruel and unusual punishment.
In a court document, Hill’s attorney claims that a succession of the three chemicals commonly used in used in lethal injection — sodium pentothal, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride — could inflict pain “contrary to the contemporary standards of decency.”
The document cites a study published last year in a British medical journal. In the study, which appeared in The Lancet, the authors found that toxicology reports of 49 executed inmates showed 43 had post-mortem concentrations of thiopental lower than required in surgery. In addition, 21 of the 49 inmates had concentrations consistent with awareness, according to the study.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Florida case, to determine whether Hill’s civil suit falls within federal appeals, as lower courts have ruled, or is a legitimate challenge to the conditions of a condemned inmate’s death sentence.
Separately, attorneys for Roane, Tipton and Johnson also are alleging in a federal lawsuit that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. They filed the suit in December in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The defendants in the case are U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales, DEA Administrator Karen Tandy, Bureau of Prisons Director Harley Lappin, Bureau Medical Director Newton E. Kendig II, penitentiary Warden Mark Bezy, and penitentiary Clinical Director Dr. Thomas Webster. The list of defendants also includes “John Does I-V,” a reference to the unknown people charged with carrying out the execution.
In the complaint, attorneys for the three death row inmates claim while sodium pentothal “supposedly will render the plaintiffs insensible to the pain of their deaths, it in fact can and will merely cast a ‘chemical veil’ over this excruciating pain, leaving plaintiffs conscious but trapped in a paralyzed body wracked with the pain of suffocation and heart attack.
“At the same time, this ‘cocktail’ will make it impossible for those observing the execution – including witnesses to it … to recognize and prevent the gratuitous pain and suffering being inflicted upon the plaintiffs.”
While the attorneys await the outcome of the Florida case, they have filed paperwork asking President Bush to grant clemency to their clients, Northup said.
Karin Grunden can be reached at (812) 231-4257 or karin.grunden@tribstar.com.
A look at the crimes
--Richard Tipton, 35, Cory Johnson, 37, and James H. Roane Jr., 40, were gang leaders in a crack-cocaine ring in Richmond, Va.
--The three were tied to nine slayings of suspected informants, competitors and underlings. One man was stabbed 84 times for mishandling a drug transaction, according to a U.S. Court of Appeals brief. Three other people were critically injured during the series of killings, which happened over a month in early 1992, court records show.
--Tipton, Johnson and Roane were sentenced under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, which includes federal execution as a sentence. The three have exhausted all appeals.
Local & Bistate
Judge puts upcoming executions on hold
- Local & Bistate
-
-
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois
ST. LOUIS — A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times today, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS — Some key Indiana legislators say it’s unlikely that the state will any time soon go along with a federal safety board’s recommendation that the threshold for drunken driving be cut nearly in half.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” -
Boat trip aims to raise awareness about Lewy Body Dementia
In 2013, the Year of the River, it makes sense to link a grand adventure on the Wabash River with a good cause.
-
Legislature had little taste for alcohol bills
When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Is it regulation that doesn’t make sense or evening the playing field?
I’m not much of a drinker, so I haven’t spent much time thinking about how Indiana’s alcohol laws personally impact me, but that changed last fall when my daughter got married.
-
RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: April 29-May 3
The Vigo County Health Department inspected the following food establishments April 29-May 3:
-
For Piper: Annual ‘Rush the Punter’ event dedicated to Dixie Bee student who died Wednesday after a short illness
Steve Weatherford’s “Rush the Punter” fundraiser at Fairbanks Park on Saturday was dedicated to a little girl who lost her life unexpectedly to pneumonia.
-
Vigo schools prepare to tighten belts
State funding for the Vigo County School Corp. will remain “pretty flat” for the next two years, said Donna Wilson, chief financial officer.
-
Veterans take to the trees
Cristal Bednar took photos of her husband, Justin, as he laboriously climbed his way up a “Dangle-Duo” to get to a zipline at Indiana State University’s Sycamore Outdoor Center.
-
Property owner seeks halt to Hulman Lake dam project
A Terre Haute property owner is seeking an injunction that would at least temporarily halt the city’s work on the Hulman Lake dam project.
-
Tornado veterans balance preparedness, practicality
Few things in nature are less predictable than a tornado. They can form quickly. They strike weirdly, leveling one building while leaving its neighbor untouched. They can fling a car a half-mile and turn a piece of lumber into a wall-piercing missile.
-
ISU unveils interactive Bayh Family Legacy Wall at school
A who’s who of Indiana Democrats paid tribute to Evan Bayh and several generations of the Bayh family Friday during a dedication of a new interactive display at Indiana State University.
-
Can you smell me now?
A contraband cell phone has been discovered by the Vigo County Jail’s youngest and most unique officer.
-
GIVING BACK: Steve Weatherford buys shoes for kids day before charity run
Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford, punter for the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants, showed once again his generosity Friday by donating new athletic shoes to more than two dozen Vigo County kids.
-
N.Y. Giants honor Weatherford as ‘Man of the Year’
Dan Tanoos, superintendent of Vigo County schools, remembers the first time he saw Steve Weatherford as a freshman at Terre Haute North Vigo High School.
-
Sunday recital at The Woods
A recital featuring songs from well-known composers is at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
-
Police investigating rash of car window shootings
Terre Haute Police are investigating a rash of shootings that have shattered car windows throughout the city.
-
City hospitals get passing grades for patient safety
Two Terre Haute hospitals have been ranked for patient safety by an independent organization that assesses safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans.
-
Three from Operation Turn and Burn sentenced in federal court
Three co-conspirators in a Wabash Valley methamphetamine trafficking ring were sentenced this week to several years in federal prison.
-
Illinois Senate approves medical marijuana bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn must decide if he will sign a measure allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes after the state Senate approved legislation today.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 17, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday, based on jail records.
-
I-70 resurfacing project will close westbound exit ramp
PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces the resurfacing project on Interstate 70 will close the westbound exit ramp at Indiana 243 beginning Wednesday May, 22 at about 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. that same day to mill and resurface the ramp.
-
UPDATE: Fire damages buildings in downtown Greencastle
GREENCASTLE, Ind. — Fire badly damaged several buildings today near the courthouse square in Greencastle, with flames shooting through the roofs as firefighters from several communities were called in to the central Indiana city to help.
-
Get outside this Memorial Day weekend
Although DNR campgrounds and cabins at state parks, state reservoirs and recreation areas are booked to capacity for Memorial Day weekend, some shelters remain available for picnics and other day-use gatherings.
-
Skateboarders, BMX bike riders working to improve area of city park they use
The sound of small wheels rolling across smooth concrete fills the air, accented by the clacking noise of a wooden skateboard coming to an instant stop on a metal edge before rolling on again.
-
Indiana State to host 2014 MVC baseball tourney
Build it… and they will come. The Missouri Valley Conference and Indiana State University made that famous line from the movie “Fields Of Dreams” reality Thursday.
-
Overlay recommended for 812 area code
The state agency that represents Hoosier utility customers is calling for a ten-digit solution to southern Indiana’s vanishing supply of 812 area code telephone numbers.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-




