United States Supreme Court Denies Motions of Obese Ohio Man Sentenced to Death

The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the Federal Government, and as such State Governments, via the Fourteenth Amendment, from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments for people charged and/or convicted of criminal offenses. For years, arguments whether the death penalty constitutes excessive or cruel and unusual punishment have been heard by many courts across the nation, both federal and state. For Richard Cooey, however, the death penalty in general was not of his concern but rather how the death penalty applied in his specific case. Cooey, an Ohio man, was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering two University of Akron students in 1986. His co-defendant received life imprisonment for his role in the crimes, due to the fact he was only seventeen when the incident occurred. Cooey was sentenced to death.

Cooey appealed to the Ohio state courts and the United States Supreme Court, arguing that Ohio’s lethal injection process would not be humane due to his obesity. Cooey, who is 5’-7” and 267 pounds argues that his obesity will make it extremely difficult to find viable veins in his arm to be used as the injection site. The United States Supreme Court denied his appeal early this week, just as the Ohio State Appellate Court and State Supreme Court had earlier. The U.S. Supreme Court chose not to rule on Cooey’s second motion which is still awaiting a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court. In his second motion, Cooey argues that Ohio’s lethal injection protocol will cause an agonizing and painful death. Ohio uses a three-injection cocktail, as many states use for lethal injections. One of the three injections is an anesthetic which Cooey argues will have a reduced effect due to migraine medication he is prescribed. Cooey petitioned the Court to order the state to use a single injection method, rather than three. His attorney’s cited two past cases in Ohio, in which men of similar sizes to Cooey had their sizes cause complications during the injections; the last man executed had his execution delayed nearly 2-hours because viable veins could not be found. As Cooey awaits a ruling on the issue, he has been transferred to the “death house” where he passed a pre-execution examination and awaits his punishment.

Capital Crimes

Capital crimes, or capital offenses, are those crimes which are punishable by death. Generally, capital punishment is only associated with first-degree homicide, however it can also apply to crimes of treason, espionage, other crimes against the United States, or as part of military justice. Capital offenses are governed by both state law and federal law, depending on the crime.

If you are under investigation or have been charged with a capital offense, it is imperative that you contact a criminal defense attorney immediately. Marc Neff is experienced in successfully defending people suspected or charged with all criminal offenses. Our office works closely with experts in the fields of DNA, forensic toxicologists, forensic pathologists, and others. For a confidential consultation, contact Mr. Neff at (215) 563-9800 or via email Marc@nefflawoffices.com.