Inmate getting pillow to help him breathe

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s prisons agency will give a condemned inmate a wedgeshaped pillow to help him breathe during his execution this week.

The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction plans to provide the pillow for death row prisoner Alva Campbell on Wednesday because of breathing issues he could experience while lying flat.

A prisons doctor recommended the accommodation after Campbell became agitated when lying on his back during an exam last month.

An exam also failed to find veins suitable for inserting an IV on either of Campbell’s arms. Prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith says the agency is assessing Campbell’s medical condition and history to identify necessary accommodations.