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Ohio Corrections Chief Says Execution Protocol Won’t Be Rushed

By Karen Kasler

Published June 6, 2019 at 9:45 PM EDT

Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Lucasville [Dan Konik] — Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Lucasville

Gov. Mike DeWine has put off all upcoming executions till a new lethal injection method is developed, which he has said will happen in the coming weeks. But the head of the prisons agency says it’s taking some time.

DeWine ordered the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to come up with a new method after a federal judge ruled the existing three-drug combination is cruel and unusual punishment.

DRC Director Annette Chambers-Smith said it’s taking those workers a while to do that because it has to.

“I’ve told them you take all the time you need, and I’ll take all the flak that comes, because at the end of the day, these are people and we’re going to make sure that we do this in a very reasonable manner that complies with the law," Chambers-Smith said.

Four executions for this year have been officially delayed. There are 25 inmates scheduled for executionthrough 2024.