Romell Broom (June 4, 1956 – December 28, 2020) was an American death row inmate who was convicted of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

. He was

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to death for the 1984 murder of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton. Broom was scheduled to be executed on September 15, 2009, but after executioners failed to locate a vein, he was granted a reprieve. A second execution attempt was scheduled for June 2020, which was delayed until March 2022. Broom died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in prison before the sentence could be carried out.

Early life

Broom was born in

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

, and moved to Ohio with his mother when he was five years old.

Crimes

Broom committed numerous non-violent crimes as a juvenile, for which he was repeatedly committed to the Ohio Youth Commission. On October 25, 1974, Broom and another person entered a man's car, robbed him at gunpoint, and forced him out. On January 11, 1975, he raped a 12-year-old girl who was babysitting his niece. On March 15, 1975, he committed another armed robbery with an accomplice. Broom later pleaded guilty to rape, aggravated robbery, and robbery, and was sentenced to 7 to 25 years in prison. His codefendant in the robberies was acquitted. Broom was paroled on May 11, 1984. Decades later, a woman named Vickie Varner claimed that Broom raped and threatened to kill her in 1975, when she was 13 years old. On September 18, 1984, Broom attempted to abduct 12-year-old Venita McKenney, but was interrupted by two neighbors and fled. On September 21, 1984, Broom abducted, raped, and murdered 14-year-old Tryna Middleton as she was walking home with two of her friends from a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

game in

East Cleveland, Ohio East Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,792 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a suburb lying east and south of Cleveland and west of Cleveland Heights. History Historically Eas ...

. On December 6, 1984, Broom physically assaulted and abducted 11-year-old Melinda Grissom. Grissom's younger sister witnessed the attack. After Broom threw Grissom into his car, her mother interrupted them and held onto the car while screaming for help. The icy road made it harder for Broom to drive, allowing Grissom's mother to hang on. Eventually, Grissom was able to escape; however, two young men were able to write the license plate number of the car. Broom was arrested later that day. He was charged with numerous crimes, including aggravated murder. Broom offered to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of 30 years to life, but his offer was rejected. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. In 2003, Broom accepted an offer from the state of Ohio for a

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

test to prove his innocence—however, the test results failed to exonerate him. The

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

hearing concluded that "the DNA report does not indicate an exact match ... Otherwise stated, eight or nine other black males in the country would have the same profile."

Aborted execution

Broom was scheduled to be executed on September 15, 2009. However, the executioners tried for two hours to maintain an IV line through which they could inject the lethal drugs, before

Ohio Governor The governor of Ohio is the head of government of Ohio and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state's Ohio National Guard, military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bill (proposed law ...

Ted Strickland Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 68th governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ( ...

issued a one-week reprieve. His lawyers argued that his first execution attempt was

cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisdi ...

, and that executing him would mean that his evidence would be "irretrievably lost" for their broader lawsuit challenging the

constitutionality In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

of Ohio's lethal injection procedure.

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Judge Gregory L. Frost scheduled a November 30, 2009, hearing on the issues.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

started a campaign to inform the public about the failure of the execution attempt. There is also a documentary on this case, ''The Second Execution of Romell Broom'' by

Michael Verhoeven Michael Alexander Verhoeven (13 July 1938 – 22 April 2024) was a German film director, screenwriter, film and television producer, and actor. He was also a qualified Doctor of Medicine. He was considered a political filmmaker. Biography Mic ...

, and Broom wrote his own story in the e-book ''Survivor on Death Row''. In March 2016, the

Ohio Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, ...

rejected an appeal by Broom and ruled that the state could again try to execute him. In August 2016, Broom asked the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

to halt a second execution, with his lawyers arguing that another execution attempt would be cruel and unusual punishment and would violate

double jeopardy In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare cases ...

protections under the 5th and 14th amendments to the U.S. constitution. On December 12, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to give Broom a hearing on his appeal. On May 19, 2017, the Ohio Supreme Court scheduled an execution date for Broom, on June 17, 2020. On April 14, 2020, Broom's execution was delayed to March 16, 2022.

Death

Broom died from suspected

complications at Franklin Medical Center in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, on December 28, 2020, at age 64, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Ohio on March 9, 2020, when the state's first cases were reported. The first death from COVID-19 in Ohio was reported on March 19. Subsequently, records supported by further ...

References

External links