The United States Supreme Court has weighed in on the scheduled lethal injection of death row inmate Alva Campbell, 69. The nation’s high court declined on Tuesday to postpone the execution of the killer at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.
At 10 AM on Wednesday, capital punishment will be carried out against the ailing inmate. Campbell’s lawyers failed to convince the high court justices that their client is “too ill to be put to death,” according to the SF Gate.
Condemned killer exhausted all avenues of hope, no stay granted
The U.S. Supreme Court was Campbell’s last hope for possibly receiving a reprieve from death.
Last week, Ohio Governor John Kasich rejected Campbell’s appeal for clemency, WKYC reported. Campbell was moved on Tuesday morning to the death house at Lucasville, which is the location of Ohio’s execution chamber.
Campbell was sentenced to death following a 1997 carjacking. He shot and killed 18-year-old Charles Dials after commandeering the teen's truck. He drove around for hours while the teen was crouched in the footwell. Campbell, then, shot Dials in the head.
The spokeswoman for Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, JoEllen Smith, said the condemned killer requested green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, pork chops, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato pie, and milk for his last meal, according to the Dayton Daily News (DDN).
Ailing death row inmate has laundry list of health problems
David Stebbins is the murderer’s federal public defender. He has cited a laundry list of health problems reportedly plaguing the aging killer. Stebbins stated that his client has some “issues with his veins,” as well as emphysema, asthma, and a colostomy bag that he must tote with him.
According to the DDN, Stebbins stated that Campbell may present some health-related “difficulties” for the execution team.
Because the condemned inmate has breathing problems when he “has to lie flat,” as his attorney explained, the state is permitting Campbell to have and “use a wedge-shaped pillow” on the gurney” during his execution, according to Smith and the DDN.
The warden is reported to have told Stebbins that medical personnel palpated veins in his client’s arms and legs to access a vein that is viable for administering the death drug cocktail.
Killer set to have breathing treatments before execution
Before he is executed, Campbell will receive his four daily asthma and emphysema breathing treatments, the Huffington Post noted. With the wedge pillow, he is not apt to experience breathing difficulties. He will be “in a semi-recumbent position.” SF Gate reported that Campbell’s breathing problems might be related to his habitual smoking, which persisted for decades.
Victims’ family, killer’s lawyers, and reporters to witness capital punishment
Among those who will witness capital punishment being carried out against Campbell Wednesday morning are his murder victim’s uncle, his sister, and his brother, the DRC conveyed to media.
Additionally, Campbell’s friend and four of his lawyers will witness his execution, SF Gate noted. Smith also stated that five reporters will witness the capital punishment of Campbell.
Executions like ‘being in a hospital’
According to Stebbins, who has witnessed additional executions in Ohio, it’s sterile. He likened the process to “being in a hospital,” DDN relayed. The difference between the settings that Stebbins noted is that the state is “executing the guy.” He described the procedure as “very cold,” adding, “They try to keep it solemn.”
