Ohio has executed a killer through the first U.S. lethal injection using a single drug, a supposedly less painful method than previous executions that required three drugs.
Kenneth Biros (BY'-rohs) was pronounced dead at 11:47 a.m. Tuesday, about 10 minutes after one dose of thiopental sodium began flowing into his veins at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Experts believed it would take longer, but Biros' death took about the same amount of time as most of those executed with three drugs.
Ohio changed to one drug after a failed attempt at putting a different inmate to death in September. Other states still use the three-drug combination.
Biros was executed for killing Tami Engstrom in 1991. Engstrom's mother, sister and brother applauded as the warden announced the time of death.
