Ohio governor delays nine executions

Ohio's governor has delayed nine executions because of a court battle being waged over the state's lethal injection protocol.

Governor John Kasich's office said on Monday the delay was necessary because of the timing of a 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on the state's appeal of a court ruling that its execution process was unconstitutional.

The court has scheduled oral arguments for June 14.

The governor's office said that meant postponing the planned May 10 execution of Ronald Phillips, who was sentenced to death for the 1993 rape and murder of his girlfriend's three-year-old daughter, and eight other executions scheduled in the months afterward.

At issue is an injunction issued by a lower court after it determined it was likely Ohio's use of midazolam hydrochloride.

It renders condemned inmates unconscious before two other drugs are administered in executions, and the court ruled it entailed a "substantial risk" of serious pain that violated prisoners' constitutional rights against cruel and unusual punishment.

Several US states use midazolam in executions, including Oklahoma and Arizona, where witnesses said inmates appeared to twist in pain on death row gurneys.