Ohio Killer To Get Lethal 2-Drug Shot Untried In The U.S.

Ohio says it will use a never-tried dose of two drugs injected intravenously to put to death an inmate who raped and killed a pregnant woman. The approach has never been used in a U.S. execution. The decision obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday means the state was unable to obtain an unregulated batch of pentobarbital. That's the drug Ohio used until its manufacturer put it off limits for executions. The state says it will instead use a combination of the sedative midazolam and the painkiller hydromorphone in the Jan. 16 execution of Dennis McGuire. The drugs were part of a backup method in which they would be injected into muscle if the intravenous method failed. Because the pentobarbital is unavailable, the two-drug combination will be injected into McGuire's veins.