Richard Cooey

Richard Cooey is an Ohio death row inmate who was convicted in 1986 of the rape and murder of University of Akron students Wendy Offredo, 21, and Dawn McCreery, 20.Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio Inmate Faces Execution for Double Homicide (August 4, 2008) Cooey had claimed that he was too overweight to execute by lethal injection humanely, but this appeal was rejected in October of 2008. On October 14, 2008, Cooey was executed by lethal injection. He died at 10:28 am.

When Cooey was asked if he had any last words, he said, "You (expletive) haven't paid any attention to what I've had to say over the past 22 and a half years. Why are you going to pay attention to what I have to say now?"NewsNet5.com: 'Obese' Inmate Dies Of Lethal Injection (October 14, 2008)

Cooey's last meal was a T-bone steak with A-1 sauce, onion rings, french fries, four eggs over easy, toast with butter, hash browns, a pint of rocky road ice cream, a Mountain Dew soft drink and bear claw pastries.NewsNet5.com: 'Obese' Inmate Dies Of Lethal Injection (October 14, 2008)

Cooey, scheduled for execution on October 14, 2008, has filed papers that claim he is too fat to be put to death humanely. Cooey and his lawyers claim that the lethal injection procedure will be difficult because of his size. In 2003, Cooey was taken to the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, but was granted a last minute reprieve.Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio Inmate Faces Execution for Double Homicide (August 4, 2008)

1. Lawyers for cult leader Jeffrey Lundgren had similarly argued that it would be cruel and unusual to execute an obese man by lethal injection. He weighed 275 pounds. Lundgren was eventually executed in 2006.CBS News: Ohio Executes Cult Leader for 5 Killings (October 24, 2006)
2. Human rights groups have complained that unhealthy meals at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, some of them containing 4,200 calories, are making detainees fat.FOXNews.com: Gitmo Diet Making Prisoners Fat (October 4, 2006)
3. In the UK's only co-gender prison facility, the female prisoners have complained about a waist-expanding, carb-heavy diet.Mail Online: Prison reviews its menu after female inmates complain they are getting fat because food is "carb-heavy" (February 14, 2008)