The state of Ohio is scheduled to execute Gary Otte on September 13. Otte’s death would be the second execution following a three-year hiatus that ended in July 26 with the execution of Ronald R. Phillips.
Ohio halted executions when a 2014 lethal injection left prisoner Dennis McGuire choking and gasping for breath before he died.
“The capital punishment system is inconsistently applied, inherently cruel and broken beyond repair,” said Kristina Roth, senior program officer at Amnesty International USA. “There is no humane way for the state to take the life of one of its prisoners. Gary Otte’s sentence must be commuted, as should those of all others on Ohio’s death row.”