Ohio Supreme Court schedules executions despite review of lethal injection process News
Ohio Supreme Court schedules executions despite review of lethal injection process

[JURIST] The Ohio Supreme Court [official website] set dates [announcement, PDF] Wednesday for two inmates to be executed by lethal injection [JURIST news archive], despite a temporary stay on executions in the state. Michael Bueke is scheduled to be executed on May 13 of next year, and Richard Nields is scheduled to be executed on June 10. Ohio's lethal injection process is currently under review after the failed execution of Romell Broom [JURIST report] in September, but Governor Ted Strickland expects the review process to be completed before the end of the year [press release].

Executions in Ohio have been postponed since September. Last month, a federal court delayed the execution of Kenneth Biros, and Strickland issued a temporary reprieve [JURIST reports] for Lawrence Reynolds and Darryl Durr. The controversy over Ohio's lethal injection procedures began when, during Broom's execution, officials failed on multiple attempts over two hours to find his vein for the lethal injection. A federal judge eventually issued an order delaying his execution.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Thomas Becket, former Chancellor of England, murdered by Henry II's knights

On December 29, 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket, former Chancellor of England, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights acting in the name of Henry II.

Becket and Henry had been entangled in a power struggle over, among other things, criminal jurisdiction over clergy. Read a contemporary account of the murder of Thomas Becket.

Texas attains US statehood

On December 29, 1845, Texas became the twenty-eighth state to join the United States of America when US President James K. Polk signed the Ordinance of Annexation. Texas had a complicated path to statehood because it had formerly been part of Mexico and then an independent republic. The US Congress passed the Annexation of the Republic of Texas Joint Resolution on March 1, 1845. Voters in Texas then approved the Ordinance of Annexation in October, before it was approved by the US Congress and signed into law by President Polk on this day in 1845. The US Supreme Court later ruled in Texas v. White that, despite its unique path to statehood, Texas did not have the right to secede from the union.