The Ohio government called off the execution of a 69-year-old convicted murderer after it was under way on Wednesday because officials could not find a suitable vein in the inmate, who is sick with cancer and other diseases, state officials said.
Alva Campbell Jr., who also suffers from lung disease, asthma and heart problems and uses a walker and colostomy bag, had argued through his lawyer that he was too sick for a lethal injection, but lost a bid to be killed by a firing squad instead.
It was the fifth mishandled execution in Ohio in recent years and the second time an attempted execution was abandoned, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. The
advocacy group, which opposes the death penalty, called for an immediate moratorium on executions in the state.
“This is not justice, and this is not humane,” Mike Brickner, the group’s policy director, said in a statement.
“Campbell was poked and prodded for nearly two hours as…