Cult leader says he's too obese for execution

[ZeoBandit]

Cult leader says he's too obese for execution
POSTED: 4:45 p.m. EDT, October 18, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A federal judge on Tuesday delayed next week's execution of cult leader Jeffrey Lundgren to allow him to join a lawsuit by five other death row inmates challenging the state's use of lethal injection.

In his request to join the lawsuit, Lundgren, 56, said he is at even greater risk of experiencing pain and suffering during the procedure than other inmates because he is overweight and diabetic.

Similar lawsuits filed in several states have led to the halting of executions in Missouri, Delaware and New Jersey.

Opponents have argued that the use of the lethal injection is unconstitutionally cruel and painful and that the procedure is often carried out without specifically trained medical personnel present.

But Ohio's method of lethal injection came under national scrutiny by death penalty opponents in May after problems slowed the execution of another inmate who was a former intravenous drug user and the vein the execution team chose collapsed as the chemicals started flowing.

While Judge Gregory Frost issued an order temporarily delaying Lundgren's execution, he said it appears to him that potential flaws with Ohio's execution process could easily be corrected.

"Thus, any delay in carrying out Lundgren's execution should and can be minimal," Frost said.

State Attorney General Jim Petro will appeal the ruling to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, said spokesman Mark Anthony.

Lundgren's sentence stems from a conviction for the fatal shooting of a family of five in 1989. The family, which included three children, were killed while they stood in a pit dug inside his barn in northeast Ohio.

Lundgren formed a cult after he was dismissed in 1987 as a lay minister of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ.

He said passages in the Bible told him to kill the family. Several witnesses said the family was not as enthusiastic about the cult as Lundgren would have liked.

The family he killed had moved from Missouri in 1987 to follow Lundgren's teachings.

Frost's decision allows Lundgren to join a 2004 lawsuit brought by death row inmate Richard Cooey, convicted of the rape and murder of two University of Akron students in 1986.

Cooey argues that the way chemicals used in lethal injection are administered makes the process painful enough to amount to cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the constitution.

Four other inmates had previously joined the lawsuit.

[LLFHS]

Fine, then shoot him in the head.

[emm5150]

Boo fucking Hoo!

[lal5150]

death by crocodile or great white shark does not sound painful to me. im sure it would be quick and painless.

[Axxman300]

Okay, I have an idea.

Take him out to the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies, give him a 100lb Army rucksack, a GPS tracking bracelt attacked to his neck and a map. Tell him that if he can make it to Juneau Alaska by January 5th, 2007, they'll commute his sentence to life.

Oh, and no shoes.

I'm evil that way.

[lal5150]

since the idea of crocs and great whites ,didnt go over too well. hows this for an idea have him walk across america when he ges to the west coast we fry whatever is left of his fat ass.(side bar as he walks he collects for some charity and then they fry his ass. at least he would have served a purpose in society.)

[Viking]

How about they just feed the hell out of him and let him eat himself to death. It probably wouldn't cost any more than all of the appeals and other legal bullshit.

[ZeoBandit]

Liposuction him to death.

[twonabomber]

Fine, then shoot him in the head.

that would be fitting.

[Aquatic Punk]

nobody is too obese for a beheading.
or, maybe we can finally see how much wait dem hangin' ropes can support.

[jimmy812]

Unbelievable! This piece of shit fatally shoots a family of five, but he fears he will experience pain and suffering during lethal injection. That's priceless.
Here's an idea: let's feather him to death. Let's kill him with comfort.
It should be very simple. You kill. You're killed. End of story.

[FORD]

How the HELL can a diabetic claim that a needle is "cruel and unusual punishment"??

We had a similar case here in Washington state with this piece of shit who shot two bank tellers point blank in the face. At the time, the common execution method in this state was hanging. Piece of shit starts eating as much junk food as possible so he can gain massive weight, then claims that he's too heavy to hang, since he would likely be decapitated in the process, and that would be "cruel and unusual punishment" (Uh, once your neck breaks, your dead, so does it matter if the rest of your body drops a little or a lot??)

The court ruled in his favor, but the strategy backfired. His rapid deliberate weight gain fucked up his liver. The son of a bitch tried to con his way into a transplant on the public dime, but didn't get one. He died a year or so ago, vicitm of his own self imposed execution. I think I'd have opted for a quick hanging over a slow painful death from a fucked liver.

[Hangman]

Just look at my username........ Since he seems so sensitive, I'd even shake his hand and say "Welcome to the Gallows you piece of shit"

[lal5150]

how about this ; we take old fatso hang him upside down and let him be killed pinata style... just whack him to death.

[chefcraig]

Upon reading this, two thoughts sprang to mind:

#1. That episode of The Simpsons wherein Homer decided to gain weight to get disability.

#2. The absurdity of the act of wiping an inmate's arm with an alcohol soaked pice of cotton before administering the lethal injection.

...craig