At the death house door

A lawyer never wants to see his client executed.  It is the ultimate failure both personally and professionally.  My failure came on October 14, 2008 at the death house in Lucasville.  My client Richard Wade Cooey had run out of options.  The state courts had abandoned he and his claims long ago.  The federal courts that breathed life into some claims suddenly turned their back.  Governor Strickland denied him clemency. 

We all gathered the evening of October 13, 2008, to spend time with Rick before the state took him away from us.  Three of us(Rick, Dana and I) sat at a picnic table surrounded by a throng of prison guards and steel bars.  We made quick work of the most pressing matter, the distribution of Ricks things.  I received his music, Dana his books, and his ashes were to go to Ireland.  The remainder of the time we spent talking about his case and how the state had screwed him out of a fair deal.  Rick finished his desert from his final meal.  We smoked one last cigarette and they led him to his holding cell. 




I spent the rest of the evening drinking beer at the hotel bar in Portsmouth, less than an hour away.  I wondered what Rick was thinking as the time ticked away from him.  How do you spend time with your last evening on earth?   I slept less than a few minutes at a time as I racked my brain thinking of what could be done for him.  When I awoke in the morning less than a few hours remained in Richard Cooey's life. 

I prepared myself, put on a black suit and tie and drove the long highway to Lucasville.  I mean I was headed to certain death of a friend.   As I entered the prison I noticed protesters and cheerleaders for Rick's execution.  We were swept into the prison away from the press and others. 

We were led to a room to await the execution.  They had provided a Chaplin for us but I spent most of the time fingering the beads on my rosary praying for a miracle.  We hoped for some indication from the United States Supreme Court that they would give us one more stay.   

We were able to visit with Rick for a period of time leading up to the execution.  At the last date in 2003 we spent hours in this small room surrounded by guards.  The cage that holds the condemned has a cot, a TV and little else.  There is no need to provide comfort to someone that is about to be murdered by the state. It is spartan even by prison standards.

This time, in 2008, the sense of urgency, immediacy rushed over us.  We all said our good byes and Rick thanked me for helping with his case.  If there ever was a time I felt small and insignificant it was then.  We were herded back to the waiting room. 

When it came time to witness the murder of my client we wandered across the yard to the concrete building that houses the execution apparatus.  When i sat down i was struck by how little they cared about the aesthetic of the room.  It was bare.  It was cold.  It was dark.  Guards and officials moved in the shadows.  We watched Rick on a closed circuit TV being hooked up by doctors and nurses.  Apparently the first rule of medicine doesnt apply to these doctors: First do no harm. 



There are three chairs set up on each side of a partition. Ricks three lawyers took their seats as his witnesses.  The familes of the two girls Rick was convicted of murdering sat on the other side.   At one point i was so angry and upset that i got up to leave but steadied myself and sat back down.

Rick is led out by an official and placed on the gurney.  He is then hooked up to the machine.  The warden asks for his last words.  Rick declines stating they haven't listened in 22 years why start now. 

The warden gives the sign and the first drug to anesthetize him begins.  They wait for what seems like hours and the warden goes and shakes him.  Good enough for government work, must be knocked out.   I am shocked this is the medical procedure to determine if the anesthetic is working. 

The second drug is pumped in to stop his breathing.  Finally the last drug is pumped in to stop his heart.  Around 1030 he is dead.   I hear victims family members remark how his death came easier than the victims. 

We all are herded into the visiting room to meet with the press.  Dana provides a heartfelt response.  My words are more angry, more pointed.   I state that a government has no conscience only policy.  (Albert Camus, seen below) The state has murdered Richard Cooey without conscience, with great premeditation. 




A free society should never do things like kill its citizens in cold, inhumane back rooms like abandoned animals.  Americans should strive for more.