Migraine Medication May Throw a Monkey Wrench In Scheduled Execution

Richard Cooey, a convicted rapist and murderer is scheduled to be executed in Ohio this October. Physician, Dr. Mark Heath, hired by the Ohio Public Defender's Office filed documents with the court last week stating, Topamax, the medication that Cooey uses for Migraine prevention, may make him resistant to the drug Thiopental. This is the medication that puts inmates to sleep before other lethal drugs are administered. Cooey is 5' 7" and 267 pounds. Heath contends that Cooey's obesity combined with this potential drug resistance increases the risk of him not being properly anesthetized before being executed.

source: Ohio inmate says he's too fat for execution