Some Filiaggi/Strickland information

From Ohio Death Penalty Information :

Some Filiaggi/Strickland information: Absent a sudden and unexpected change of mind about pursuing the federal appeals still available to him, James Filiaggi will be executed on Tuesday. Lest any one be still wondering about possible intervention by Governor Strickland, it is exceedingly unlikely. By all accounts ("all" meaning three people who have spoken with him on the issue, who should be reliable sources), and contrary to the image presented in the media of great concern, Strickland is quite looking forward to getting the first execution of his administration carried out so that questions lingering about his intent will be put to rest, and some of the pressure he is feeling on the issue will diminish. Unlike what may be the case for Attorney General Marc Dann, for Governor Strickland participation in Ohio's practice of capital punishment is not just a matter of "doing his job," or carrying out his oath of office: He wants executions to take place in Ohio. He has little or no concern about the lethal-injection protocol currently in use, and sees no need for any kind of careful examination of the procedure (as is still being sought in the Cooey lawsuit, subject to an appeal currently before the full US 6th Circuit Ct. of Appeals). In that and other matters having to do with procedures being used to carry out executions, he is quite content to follow the lead of the Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections. As far as what many see as the serious problems in geographical, racial, financial disproportionalities of Ohio's system of capital punishment, and serious questions about actual innocence in several cases, these are not overarching issues for him. He considers any such questions or issues to be subject to examination in individual cases (and - apparently - matters that he and his staff are qualified to evaluate themselves). They don't raise any fundamental question for him of the appropriateness of the punishment itself.