Lacking Lethal Injection Drugs, States Find Untested Backups

Lacking Lethal Injection Drugs, States Find Untested Backups Enlarge this image toggle caption Amber Hunt/AP Amber Hunt/AP The U.S. is facing a shortage of a drug widely used for lethal injections. The move caused a shortage, she says, "which basically led states to search for the drug wherever they could find it." "So if the drugs cannot be validated as effective, this could be a violation of an inmate's Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment." "His attorneys say they need this information about where the drug is coming from and how it's manufactured — even to know if they can mount a legal challenge," Lohr says.