"Ohio's lethal injection process is unconstitutional because it could cause pain and the state mandates that an inmate's death be painless, Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge ruled today.

"Ohio's lethal injection process is unconstitutional because it could cause pain and the state mandates that an inmate's death be painless, Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge ruled today. He ordered the state to stop using the drugs that paralyze muscles and stop the heart and simply administer a lethal dose of an anesthetic (barbiturate). The U.S. Supreme Court in April upheld Kentucky's lethal- injection process, which is similar to Ohio's and that in 34 other states." "Burge ruled in the cases of Ruben Rivera and Ronald McCloud, who are charged with aggravated murder. It was the first time in the U.S. that the lethal injection issue was reviewed before a trial. The Ohio attorney general's office, the department of corrections and the Lorain County prosecutor's office are reviewing the decision. Their attorney, Jeffrey Gamso, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, hopes the ruling has a wide-ranging effect.