Ohio death row inmate under new security measures as execution date nears

The next inmate to be executed in Ohio faces heightened security this weekend as the state tries to avoid another suicide attempt on death row.

Darryl Durr is under a 72-hour watch at a Youngstown prison. He is scheduled to die Tuesday by lethal injection for strangling a 16-year-old girl in suburban Cleveland in 1988.

Prisons spokeswoman Julie Walburn says the cell watch has been standard in the days before executions. But now the cell includes a Plexiglas-like door so guards can keep better surveillance. Also, staff will evaluate whether Durr can have certain personal items, including shoestrings.

The moves come after the March 7 attempted suicide of inmate Lawrence Reynolds, who overdosed on antidepressants 2 days before his scheduled execution.

Source: Associated Press, April 17, 2010