Attorneys oppose request to schedule 2nd execution attempt

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Attorneys for a convicted Ohio killer who survived a botched execution attempt in 2009 are opposing a request to set a new execution date.

Death row inmate Romell Broom was sentenced to die for abducting, raping and killing 14-year-old Tryna Middleton in Cleveland in 1984.

The state stopped Broom’s execution after two hours in September 2009, when executioners failed to find a usable vein following 18 attempts to insert needles.

Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH’-guh) County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley wants the Ohio Supreme Court to set an execution date, saying Broom has stalled his execution for seven years with appeals.

Broom’s attorneys said in a Wednesday filing that Broom has important appeals pending and that the state shouldn’t be in a hurry to set a new date.