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 1  The State of Ohio,   ) 

 2  County of Lorain.    ) SS:  

 3  

 4               IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

 5  THE STATE OF OHIO,         )
                 Plaintiff;    )
 6       vs.                   )  No. 04CR065940
    RUBEN O. RIVERA,           ) 
 7               Defendant.    )
    
 8  THE STATE OF OHIO,         )
                 Plaintiff;    )
 9       vs.                   )  No. 05CR068067
                               )
10  RONALD McCLOUD,            )     
                 Defendant.    )
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                              ***
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             COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS
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              MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2008 - VOLUME II
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                              ***
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      BE IT REMEMBERED, that on Monday, the 7th day of
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    April, 2008, being one of the regular days of the April
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    term of said court, before the Honorable James M. Burge,
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    the Presiding Judge of said court, the above-captioned
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    causes came on for hearing upon Defendants' Motion to 
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    Declare the Lethal Injection Protocol Unconstitutional.  
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                               ***
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                                                               110

 1        AFTERNOON SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2008

 2           THE COURT:  All right.  We left off in this 

 3  morning's proceedings with -- still in Dr. Heath's direct 

 4  testimony. 

 5           I think that we were able to narrow the factual 

 6  issues, at least from Dr. Heath's testimony.  His 

 7  testimony, if I understand it correctly, would be that the 

 8  administration of potassium chloride without anesthetic 

 9  would be very painful; that the administration of 

10  pancuronium bromide, while not necessarily painful, would 

11  at least be anguish-filled, since the condemned couldn't 

12  breathe; and that the crux of the issue lies with the 

13  administration of thiopental, which is the anesthetic 

14  drug.

15           I think that the doctor has made it clear that if 

16  a sufficient amount of thiopental is administered 

17  appropriately, it will cause the death of the accused 

18  painlessly. 

19           My understanding of the doctor's reservations 

20  about Ohio's protocol can be summed up in the nature of 

21  the practice, that is, there isn't a bedside practitioner 

22