Ohio SC to Hear Arguments of Romell Broom’s Attorneys for Second Time

Case of a condemned Ohio killer is to be heard for the second time in Ohio Supreme Court under an attempt to put him to death.

It has been said that Romell Broom, 59, was sentenced to death for the 1984 rape case and for slaying of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton after abducting her in Cleveland as she walked home from a Friday night football game with two friends.

The apex court has planned a hearing for Tuesday to hear arguments from Broom’s attorneys. Earlier his 2009 execution was stopped by the then Governor Ted Strickland after Broom complained that the execution team tried for two hours to find a suitable vein.

Broom has said he was stuck with needles at least 18 times, with pain so intense that he cried and screamed.

The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction recruited a part-time prison doctor who had no experience or training with executions.

So far broom’s appeals in federal court are kept on hold but the state court will hear the constitutional arguments on the case.

Broom’s attorney Adele Shank and Timothy Sweeney, argued in a court filing last year, that asking Broom to continue another execution attempt would double up his punishment.

They also said Broom faces a unique and uncalled for psychological terror by being put through the execution process another time.

The state said in a statement that the lower courts need to properly determine mistakes happened during Broom's execution preparations, not the actual procedure, and lethal chemicals ever began to flow through his veins.

Katherine Mullin and Allan Regas, assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutors, said, “Where a lawfully adjudged sentence is not carried out, it cannot be said that a second successful attempt will result in multiple punishments for the same offense”.