Sec. 2949.22. (A)
Except as provided in division
(B)(1)(C) | 11 |
of
this section, a death sentence shall be executed by causing
a | 12 |
current of electricity, of sufficient intensity to cause death,
to | 13 |
pass through the body of the person upon whom the sentence was | 14 |
imposed. The application of the current shall be continued until | 15 |
the person upon whom the sentence was imposed is dead. The
warden | 16 |
of the correctional institution in which the sentence is to be | 17 |
executed or another person selected by the director of | 18 |
rehabilitation and correction shall ensure that the death
sentence | 19 |
is executed. | 20 |
(B)(1) Any person sentenced to death may elect to be | 21 |
executed by lethal injection instead of by electrocution as | 22 |
described in division (A) of this section. The election shall be | 23 |
made no later than one week prior to the scheduled date of | 24 |
execution of the person by filing a written notice of the
election | 25 |
with the department of rehabilitation and correction.
If a person | 26 |
sentenced to death timely files with the department a
written | 27 |
notice of an election to be executed by lethal injection,
the | 28 |
person's death sentence shall be executed by causing the | 29 |
application to the person, upon whom the sentence was imposed, of | 30 |
a lethal injection of a drug or
combination of drugs of sufficient | 31 |
dosage to quickly and
painlessly
cause death
instead of by | 32 |
electrocution as described
in division (A) of this section. The | 33 |
application of the drug or
combination of drugs shall be continued | 34 |
until the person is dead.
The warden of the correctional | 35 |
institution in which the sentence is to
be executed or another | 36 |
person selected by the director of
rehabilitation and correction | 37 |
shall ensure that the death
sentence is executed. | 38 |
(2) Neither a person's timely filing of a written notice
of | 43 |
election under division (B)(1) of this section nor a person's | 44 |
failure to file or timely file a written notice of election under | 45 |
that division shall affect or waive any right of appeal or | 46 |
postconviction relief that may be available under the laws of
this | 47 |
state or the United States relative to the conviction for
which | 48 |
the sentence of death was imposed upon the person or
relative to | 49 |
the imposition or execution of that sentence of
death. | 50 |
(C)(B) A death sentence shall be executed within the walls | 51 |
of
the state correctional institution designated by the director | 52 |
of
rehabilitation and correction as the location for executions, | 53 |
within an enclosure to be prepared for that purpose, under the | 54 |
direction of the warden of the institution or, in
histhe
warden's | 55 |
absence, a
deputy warden, and on the day designated by the judge | 56 |
passing
sentence or otherwise designated by a court in the course | 57 |
of any
appellate or postconviction proceedings. The enclosure | 58 |
shall
exclude public view. | 59 |
(D) If a death sentence is required to be executed by
lethal | 60 |
injection because the person sentenced to death elected to
be | 61 |
executed by lethal injection pursuant to division (B)(1) of
this | 62 |
section and if the execution of a death sentence by lethal | 63 |
injection is determined to be unconstitutional, the death
sentence | 64 |
shall be executed by causing a current of electricity,
of | 65 |
sufficient intensity to cause death, to pass through the body
of | 66 |
the person upon whom the sentence was imposed. The
application of | 67 |
the current shall be continued until the person is
dead. The | 68 |
warden of the state correctional institution in which the sentence | 69 |
is to be executed or another person selected by the director of | 70 |
rehabilitation and correction shall ensure that the death
sentence | 71 |
is executed. | 72 |
(C) If a person is sentenced to death, and if the execution | 73 |
of a death sentence by lethal injection has been determined to be | 74 |
unconstitutional, the death sentence shall be executed by using | 75 |
any different manner of execution prescribed by law subsequent to | 76 |
the effective date of this amendment instead of by causing the | 77 |
application to the person of a lethal injection of a drug or | 78 |
combination of drugs of sufficient dosage to quickly and | 79 |
painlessly cause death, provided that the subsequently prescribed | 80 |
different manner of execution has not been determined to be | 81 |
unconstitutional. The use of the subsequently prescribed | 82 |
different manner of execution shall be continued until the person | 83 |
is dead. The warden of the state correctional institution in | 84 |
which the sentence is to be executed or another person selected by | 85 |
the director of rehabilitation and correction shall ensure that | 86 |
the sentence of death is executed. | 87 |