The execution of Dennis McGuire occurred on January 16, 2014, at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, in what was considered to be a botched execution. McGuire was executed via

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

using a new combination of untried and untested drugs: midazolam and hydromorphone. During the execution, witnesses reported that McGuire could be seen struggling to breathe, and reportedly gasped loudly while making snorting and choking sounds for at least ten minutes. It took over twenty-five minutes for McGuire to die, in a process that should normally take just over eight minutes. The execution led to an unofficial moratorium on

capital punishment in Ohio Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Ohio, although all executions have been suspended indefinitely by Governor Mike DeWine until a replacement for lethal injection is chosen by the Ohio General Assembly. The last execution ...

for over three years. McGuire's family filed a civil rights lawsuit against the state and an

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

drug company. The lawsuit was later dropped by the family after the

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

announced it would abandon the execution method it had used on McGuire. The state did not carry out another execution until July 2017.

Background

Dennis B. McGuire (February 10, 1960 – January 16, 2014) was sentenced to death on December 8, 1994, for the 1989 rape and murder of 22-year-old Joy Stewart in

West Alexandria, Ohio West Alexandria is a village in Preble County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,340 at the 2010 census. History West Alexandria was laid out in 1818. The community derives its name from one of its founders, William Alexander. A post of ...

. Stewart disappeared on February 11, 1989, and her body was found by two hikers the following day in the woods near Bantas Creek. An autopsy was performed, and it was determined she had died from having her throat cut by a knife, which had severed her

carotid artery Carotid artery may refer to: * Common carotid artery, often "carotids" or "carotid", an artery on each side of the neck which divides into the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery * External carotid artery, an artery on each side of t ...

and jugular vein. No leads came in for the case until December 1989, when McGuire, who was in prison for an unrelated crime, spoke with police, and told them that his brother-in-law had murdered Stewart. McGuire knew details about the crime that had not been made public, making investigators take his allegation seriously. However, as new details emerged, it became apparent that McGuire had been the actual perpetrator. DNA testing carried out in 1992 proved that McGuire had raped and murdered Stewart. On December 22, 1993, McGuire was charged with one count of aggravated murder, two counts of rape, and one count of kidnapping. On December 8, 1994, McGuire was found guilty of all charges, and the jury recommended a death sentence.

Execution

McGuire spent over nineteen years on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

until his execution date, which was scheduled for January 16, 2014. In September 2013, the state of Ohio ran out of the drug pentobarbital. The drug, originally manufactured in

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, was subject to strict export licenses that prevented it being sold to departments of correction within the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. European-based manufacturers banned prisons in the United States from using their drugs in executions. Because of this, the state of Ohio was forced to use a new combination of drugs to execute McGuire. The state decided on a combination of the drugs midazolam, a

sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but t ...

, and hydromorphone, an

opioid Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, replacement therapy for opioid us ...

painkiller. The combination had never been tried or tested before. McGuire's lawyers had warned ahead of the proceeding that the new combination of drugs may subject McGuire to air hunger, which would cause him to suffocate to death. In court proceedings, an Ohio state prosecutor bluntly stated that McGuire was not ecessarily and automaticallyentitled to a painless execution, and a judge allowed the execution to proceed. At 10:28a.m. on the morning of January 16, 2014, at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, McGuire was injected with both drugs after he gave a final statement. According to a witness at the execution, four minutes into the procedure, McGuire could be seen struggling and gasping loudly for air. He made snorting and choking sounds, which lasted for at least ten to fifteen minutes. At 10:53a.m., McGuire was pronounced dead. The execution took over twenty-five minutes, in a process that should have normally taken around eight. It was the longest execution ever recorded in Ohio. His

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States In the United States, most states gi ...

was roast beef, fried chicken, a bagel with cream cheese, fried potatoes with onions, potato salad, butter pecan ice cream, and a Coke.

Aftermath

Following the execution, McGuire's family planned to sue the state of Ohio for inflicting cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the US constitution. A professor of

anesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), ...

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

told an Ohio court that using midazolam was inappropriate in an execution, and that the state ran the risk of McGuire being conscious for up to five minutes while suffocating. The human rights group Reprieve also released a statement in response, saying they were shocked that the state had gone ahead with the execution, despite the warnings from experts. All pending executions in Ohio were put on hold, and an unofficial moratorium on

was declared by Governor John Kasich. The state then tried to find compounded or specially mixed versions of lethal drugs, but was unsuccessful. Kasich later signed a bill into law that shielded the names of companies that provide the state of Ohio with lethal injection drugs. Over a year later, McGuire's family dropped its civil rights lawsuit against the state after the

announced it would abandon the execution method it had used on McGuire in favor of alternative anesthetics. The decision satisfied McGuire's family. Kasich ruled out looking for alternative execution methods, such as

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

. It took over three years before Ohio planned to resume executions with a new, three-drug combination: midazolam,

rocuronium bromide Rocuronium bromide (brand names Zemuron, Esmeron) is an aminosteroid non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocker or muscle relaxant used in modern anaesthesia to facilitate tracheal intubation by providing skeletal muscle relaxation, most commonly re ...

, and

potassium chloride Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a salt ...

. In July 2017, convicted murderer Ronald Philips was the next person to be executed after McGuire, using the new three-drug combination.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGuire, Dennis 1960 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American criminals 21st-century executions by Ohio 21st-century executions of American people American people convicted of assault American people convicted of kidnapping American people convicted of rape American people executed for murder Deaths by person in Ohio People executed by Ohio by lethal injection People convicted of murder by Ohio Political controversies in the United States 2014 in American law 2014 in Ohio Executed people from Ohio January 2014 events in the United States 2014 controversies in the United States

Background

Execution

Aftermath

See also

References