USA - Ohio. Federal judge orders halt to executions until August 15, 2014

Federal judge orders temporary halt to executions. Federal judge Gregory Frost has suspended all executions in Ohio until at least August 15, 2014 in order to allow time to consider the state's new execution protocol. The order delays executions scheduled for July and August while attorneys prepare filings about the state's decision to boost the dosages of its lethal injection drugs. The 1-page order by Frost affects the state's latest death penalty policy change, which was announced in late April. Ohio uses 2 drugs, Midazolam and Hydromorphone, injected simultaneously in executions. The policy change considerably increases the amount of the sedative and raises the amount of the painkiller. The procedure update followed the Jan. 16 execution of Dennis McGuire, who repeatedly gasped during the record 26 minutes it took him to die.