Ronald Phillips, a convicted child murderer, is set to be executed in Ohio Thursday. He had requested to donate his organs to his mother and sister, but that was denied by prison officials.
The Associated Press reports that prison officials rejected the request, citing the security precautions needed. In a letter on Tuesday, officials said they tried to accommodate his last-minute request, but they couldn't figure out how to do that without delaying Thursday’s scheduled execution.
Phillips’ attorney said that the 40-year-old was not trying to delay the execution, but just trying to make a last-minute gesture of goodwill. His sister has a heart condition and his mother is dealing with kidney disease. Prison officials said that the family could harvest his organs after the execution by sedative and painkillers, but it’s not clear if that would be an option when they give his body to the family.
The department “has reviewed the options and has determined that the department is not equipped to facilitate organ donation pre- or post-execution,” spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said Tuesday.
According to the Cleveland Leader, Phillips was of raping and murdering his girlfriend’s three-year-old daughter in 1993.
His appeals have been dropped and Ohio Gov. John Kasich refused his plea for mercy.
“He's been very reflective and prayerful over the last several weeks. I think he was very hopeful that he was going to be granted clemency and/or get relief from the court, so this never really had to come to a head,” Phillips’ attorney, Tim Sweeney, said. “The disappointment on those fronts made this obviously more relevant.”