Trumbull County prosecutor supports Ohio's proposed execution method

Local support for a new proposed method of executing Ohio's prisoners on death row are already pouring in.
Trumbull County Attorney Dennis Watkins says he applauds the efforts of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, State Reps. Brian Stewart and Phil Plummer and Ohio Prosecuting Attorney's Association Executive Director Lou Tobin for the introduction of legislation to permit the use of nitrogen hypoxia for the state's death penalty.
The new method will require inmates on death row to wear a respirator mask while breathing in pure gas.
If passed, this bill would give inmates the option to pick their preferred method of death, but only if the chemicals used for injections are available.
Alabama was the first to use this method in an execution last week.
Watkins says the introduction of nitrogen hypoxia will help what he describes as a logjam currently happening in the state's prison system for death row inmates.
He cites Miriam Fife's family, which has been waiting to see Fife's 12-year-old son Raymond's killer, Danny Lee Hill, put to death for more than 38 years.
Hill is expected to be executed for Raymond's brutal murder in 2026.
The state has not carried out an execution since 2018.
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