Secrecy surrounds execution drugs in US states
10 years, 11 months ago

Secrecy surrounds execution drugs in US states

Associated Press  

ST. LOUIS — Dating to the days when the guillotine operator or the hangman wore a mask, a certain amount of anonymity has always surrounded executions. Most states have refused to name the “compounding pharmacies” supplying execution drugs, citing concerns about a backlash that could endanger the supplier’s safety. Last week, an Oklahoma judge voided the state’s execution law, agreeing with two inmates who claimed a “veil of secrecy” that prevents them from obtaining information about lethal injection drugs violated their constitutional rights. Likewise, several states now have secrecy laws or policies shielding the source of execution drugs, including Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas. An attorney for the prison system argued in a brief this week that someone “threatened to blow up a truck full of fertilizer” outside a pharmacy that provides execution drugs for another state.

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History of this topic

Utah scraps untested lethal drug combination for man’s August execution
8 months, 1 week ago

Utah scraps untested lethal drug combination for man’s August execution

Associated Press  

Utah officials said Saturday that they are scrapping plans to use an untested lethal drug combination in next month’s planned execution of a man in a 1998 murder case. Defense attorneys for Taberon Dave Honie, 49, had sued in state court to stop the use of the drug combination, saying it could cause the defendant “excruciating suffering.” The execution scheduled …

Unmarked cars and secret orders: How a pharmacy prepared drugs for Texas’ executions
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Unmarked cars and secret orders: How a pharmacy prepared drugs for Texas’ executions

NPR  

Unmarked cars and secret orders: How a pharmacy prepared drugs for Texas’ executions toggle caption Brenda Bazan for NPR The state of Texas, blocked from purchasing lethal injection drugs by major pharmaceutical companies that refuse to participate in executions, bought them instead from an in-state compounding pharmacy with a history of more than a dozen safety and cleanliness violations, NPR …

Top Tennessee prison officials fired after report finds ‘shocking’ issues with death penalty drugs
2 years, 2 months ago

Top Tennessee prison officials fired after report finds ‘shocking’ issues with death penalty drugs

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Two top Tennessee corrections …

Inmates allege Texas plans to use unsafe execution drugs
2 years, 2 months ago

Inmates allege Texas plans to use unsafe execution drugs

Associated Press  

HOUSTON — Texas plans to use expired and unsafe drugs to carry out executions early this year in violation of state law, three death row inmates allege in a lawsuit. Like other states in recent years, Texas has turned to compounding pharmacies to obtain pentobarbital, which it uses for executions, after traditional drugmakers refused to sell their products to prison …

Execution suit tossed because Louisiana can’t get drugs
2 years, 11 months ago

Execution suit tossed because Louisiana can’t get drugs

Associated Press  

BATON ROUGE — A federal judge has dismissed a nearly decade-old lawsuit against executions in Louisiana, saying there’s nothing to challenge because the state can only get the required drugs as medicines. Louisiana should now join neighboring states in finding ways to execute people sentenced to death, state Attorney General Jeff Landry said Thursday. The judge noted that since a …

Idaho committee kills bill expanding execution drug secrecy
3 years ago

Idaho committee kills bill expanding execution drug secrecy

Associated Press  

BOISE, Idaho — A bill that would have increased the secrecy surrounding Idaho’s execution drug suppliers died in a Senate committee hearing Wednesday on a tie vote. Idaho Department of Correction Director Josh Tewalt said potential drug suppliers want the confidentiality provisions written into state law before they will sell to Idaho’s prison officials. “The understanding has always been, if …

House OKs bill to keep lethal injection drug source secret
3 years, 1 month ago

House OKs bill to keep lethal injection drug source secret

Associated Press  

BOISE, Idaho — The House on Thursday approved legislation that would bar Idaho officials from releasing where they obtain the drugs used in lethal injection executions. The Idaho Department of Correction has long tried to keep details about where and how it obtains lethal injection drugs secret, but the bill from Caldwell Republican Rep. Greg Chaney would make that secrecy …

House panel demands information on federal execution drug
3 years, 3 months ago

House panel demands information on federal execution drug

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee is demanding the Justice Department provide answers about whether Biden administration officials have any plans to procure the drug used in federal executions despite an ongoing moratorium on capital punishment. Raskin and Pressley want the Justice Department to provide a briefing to the committee’s staff by Dec. 22 about the review that Garland initiated …

SC delays execution, citing lack of lethal injection drugs
4 years, 3 months ago

SC delays execution, citing lack of lethal injection drugs

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of a death row prisoner after corrections officials said they couldn’t obtain the necessary lethal injection drugs in time. An attorney for the state Department of Corrections wrote in a letter to the South Carolina Supreme Court last week that the agency cannot carry out the execution …

Arkansas faces new court fight over sedative for executions
5 years, 11 months ago

Arkansas faces new court fight over sedative for executions

Associated Press  

— A federal lawsuit filed by death row inmates has renewed a court fight over whether the sedative Arkansas uses for lethal injections causes torturous executions, two years after the state raced to put eight convicted killers to death in 11 days before a previous batch of the drug expired. Much of the trial over Arkansas’ process will focus on …

Texas’ high court keeps execution drug supplier secret
5 years, 11 months ago

Texas’ high court keeps execution drug supplier secret

Associated Press  

AUSTIN, Texas — A supplier of Texas’ execution drugs can remain secret under a court ruling Friday that upheld risks of “physical harm” to the pharmacy, ending what state officials called a threat to the entire U.S. death penalty system. Last year, Arizona’s attorney general filed a brief in support of Texas, arguing that disclosing the name of the pharmacy …

Arkansas lawmakers vote to expand execution drug secrecy
5 years, 11 months ago

Arkansas lawmakers vote to expand execution drug secrecy

Associated Press  

— Arkansas lawmakers sent the governor legislation Wednesday to expand the secrecy surrounding the source of the state’s lethal injection drugs, over the objections of media organizations, pharmaceutical companies and death penalty opponents. “What also stands out is the level of conscious disregard for the facts and conscious disregard of the potential effects.” Jeff Rosenzweig, an attorney for death row …

Drugmakers object to Arkansas execution secrecy measure
5 years, 11 months ago

Drugmakers object to Arkansas execution secrecy measure

Associated Press  

— Two pharmaceutical companies objected to legislative efforts to expand the secrecy surrounding the source of Arkansas’ lethal injection drugs, saying the proposal would hamper their ability to ensure their products aren’t being used for executions. “It is imperative that we are not impeded from protecting patient health and upholding the protocols we have put in place to monitor the …

Idaho judge: Lethal injection drug source is secret for now
6 years, 6 months ago

Idaho judge: Lethal injection drug source is secret for now

Associated Press  

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho judge has modified a previous decision, and now says state prison officials can hold off on identifying where they obtain the drugs used in executions until a trial is held on the matter. Fourth District Judge Lynn Norton ruled in May that the state had to turn over nearly all of its execution records, including …

Plan would further restrict Arkansas execution drug info
6 years, 8 months ago

Plan would further restrict Arkansas execution drug info

Associated Press  

— Arkansas’ governor said Tuesday he supports an effort to increase the secrecy surrounding the state’s lethal injection drug supply by keeping the drugs’ manufacturers and labels off-limits to the public. The proposed changes are in response to two state Supreme Court rulings over the past year that a 2015 law preventing the disclosure of the state’s lethal injection drug …

States Study Use of Fentanyl as Execution Drug
7 years, 2 months ago

States Study Use of Fentanyl as Execution Drug

Huff Post  

By Christopher Zoukis Faced with pharmaceutical supplier refusals, states are having serious difficulty obtaining the lethal drugs used for current execution protocols, so they are increasingly examining alternatives — including fentanyl, the synthetic drug that is in large part responsible for the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic. The difficulty obtaining chemicals needed for current execution protocols has also led some of …

Arkansas got execution drug made by resistant manufacturer
7 years, 4 months ago

Arkansas got execution drug made by resistant manufacturer

Associated Press  

— One of the three drugs Arkansas planned to use in a lethal injection this week was made by a New York company that says it doesn’t sell its products if it fears they’ll be used in executions, court documents released Wednesday show. A package insert and drug label for the state’s supply of midazolam released by the state in …

Judge: Arizona doesn’t have to reveal execution drug sources
7 years, 6 months ago

Judge: Arizona doesn’t have to reveal execution drug sources

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Arizona does not have to reveal who provides its execution drugs, a judge ruled Thursday in a lawsuit arguing that the information would help the public determine whether the death penalty is carried out humanely and promote confidence in the criminal justice system. U.S. District Judge Murray Snow ruled that the media outlets didn’t show they had a …

Official: Firms won’t sell execution drugs to Arizona
7 years, 8 months ago

Official: Firms won’t sell execution drugs to Arizona

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — An Arizona prison official in charge of buying drugs to carry out the death penalty testified Tuesday in a media lawsuit over access to execution information that pharmaceutical companies will no longer sell drugs to carry out the punishment. “No one that I know will do business with the Department of Corrections.” The news organizations, including The Associated …

Nebraska resumes search for lethal injection drug suppliers
8 years, 1 month ago

Nebraska resumes search for lethal injection drug suppliers

Associated Press  

— Nebraska officials have started a new search for lethal injection drugs and are backing a proposal that would allow them to conceal a supplier’s identity after voters reinstated capital punishment last year. His comments came outside of a Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on a proposed shield law that would keep secret the identity of any lethal …

Lawyers for inmates rip revised execution procedures
8 years, 1 month ago

Lawyers for inmates rip revised execution procedures

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Lawyers for death-row inmates say recent changes to Arizona’s procedures for carrying out the death penalty didn’t do enough to confront abuses in the state’s power to decide the methods and amounts of drugs used in executions. Attorneys for the condemned inmates said in court papers filed Friday that the state’s corrections director, under the revisions, still has …

Pfizer to restrict sales of seven drugs used in executions
8 years, 10 months ago

Pfizer to restrict sales of seven drugs used in executions

Live Mint  

Minneapolis: Pfizer Inc., the US’s biggest drugmaker, introduced a new policy designed to restrict sales of seven of its drugs that have been used in lethal injections at prisons across the US, saying it strongly objects to the use of its medicines for the purpose of capital punishment. The decision means all 25 companies that produce medicines used in executions …

Texas fighting order to disclose execution drug supplier
8 years, 10 months ago

Texas fighting order to disclose execution drug supplier

Associated Press  

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — More than a year after a judge ordered Texas to divulge the source of its execution drugs, the information has not been released, legislators passed a state law protecting the prison agency from doing so, and the lengthy appeal that has allowed the provider to remain secret will finally be heard. Texas, the nation’s most active capital …

Virginia to shield identities of execution drug suppliers
8 years, 11 months ago

Virginia to shield identities of execution drug suppliers

Associated Press  

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia will join several states that keep secret the identities of suppliers of lethal injection drugs, under a measure approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly on Wednesday amid growing concern over the state’s ability to carry out capital punishment. “My amendments offered legislators a choice between a practical approach to moving forward with Virginia’s death penalty law …

Feds battle death penalty states trying to illegally import lethal injection drugs
9 years, 5 months ago

Feds battle death penalty states trying to illegally import lethal injection drugs

Raw Story  

States are locked in legal battle with the federal government after regulators intercepted illegally imported anesthetics to be used in lethal injections Death penalty states are locked in a legal battle with the federal government after regulators intercepted shipments of illegally imported anesthetics that were destined to be used in executions as part of lethal injection protocols. “Their position is …

States with ties to drug implicated in flawed executions
9 years, 8 months ago

States with ties to drug implicated in flawed executions

Associated Press  

With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that midazolam can be used in lethal injections, here’s a look at the states where the sedative has been implicated in several flawed executions or where it is or has been listed in prison system protocols: STATES THAT HAVE USED MIDAZOLAM: ARIZONA Executions are on hold amid a lawsuit seeking information about the drugs …

Botched Lethal Injection Executions Reignite Death Penalty Debate
10 years, 2 months ago

Botched Lethal Injection Executions Reignite Death Penalty Debate

NPR  

Botched Lethal Injection Executions Reignite Death Penalty Debate Enlarge this image toggle caption AP AP This past year, the number of inmates executed in America was the lowest in two decades at 35, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. But death penalty states are having increasing difficulty obtaining the drugs they have used to execute inmates because pharmaceutical companies …

Opinion: A shroud of secrecy around executions: Is this the American way?
10 years, 4 months ago

Opinion: A shroud of secrecy around executions: Is this the American way?

LA Times  

So what should a state do when its executions run into trouble? Several death row inmates have protested, arguing that if the state that wants to kill them keeps secret the drugs and sources it will use, then it’s impossible to determine whether the execution would violate the 8th Amendment proscription against cruel and unusual punishment. But a law working …

Opinion: This is a civilized society? Three face possible executions this week.
10 years, 9 months ago

Opinion: This is a civilized society? Three face possible executions this week.

LA Times  

In the first executions since Oklahoma in effect tortured a condemned man to death last month, three convicted killers face death by lethal injection this week in cases that reflect the barbaric absurdity of the practice. The first man slated for the gurney is Marcus Wellons, 59, who faces a single massive dose of pentobarbital at 4 p.m. Tuesday in …

Oklahoma court delays executions over plan to change lethal drugs
11 years ago

Oklahoma court delays executions over plan to change lethal drugs

LA Times  

<i>This post has been updated. See note below.</i> HOUSTON — An Oklahoma appeals court on Tuesday postponed two executions after state officials revealed they were planning to change lethal injection drugs due to a shortage. Oklahoma is one of several death penalty states grappling with the legal ramifications of adjusting lethal injection drugs after major drug makers — many based …

Row over drug in lethal injection may prevent Missouri execution
11 years, 1 month ago

Row over drug in lethal injection may prevent Missouri execution

Firstpost  

A court hearing is scheduled Tuesday in the federal lawsuit filed by inmate Michael Taylor against The Apothecary Shoppe, a compounding pharmacy in Tulsa. A court hearing is scheduled Tuesday in the federal lawsuit filed by inmate Michael Taylor against The Apothecary Shoppe, a compounding pharmacy in Tulsa that his attorneys said was providing a drug that could cause “inhumane …

Prolonged execution renews debate over death by lethal injection
11 years, 2 months ago

Prolonged execution renews debate over death by lethal injection

LA Times  

HOUSTON — An Ohio inmate’s drawn-out execution this week led to an outcry about the increased use of new lethal injection drugs by the country’s 32 death penalty states, a practice that experts predict will lead to more problems. His lethal injection was a combination of two drugs never tried before in a U.S. execution, according to experts at the …

Where Do Drugs For Lethal Injections Come From? Few Know
11 years, 7 months ago

Where Do Drugs For Lethal Injections Come From? Few Know

NPR  

Where Do Drugs For Lethal Injections Come From? Few Know Enlarge this image toggle caption Ric Feld/AP Ric Feld/AP Several states are dealing with a shortage of lethal injection drugs and have had problems getting enough to carry out executions. The Lethal Injection Secrecy Act says that the identity of people or companies that manufacture, supply or prescribe drugs used …

Merchants of death
13 years, 11 months ago

Merchants of death

The Hindu  

Brandon Rhode was not in good shape when he was strapped into the execution chamber gurney on September 27 2010, in Georgia, United States. In a sworn declaration Mark Heath, a medical doctor and an expert witness in lethal injection cases, said: “Given the highly unusual provenance of the thiopental that was used in the Rhode execution, one explanation for …

New Lethal Injection Drug Raises Concerns
14 years, 2 months ago

New Lethal Injection Drug Raises Concerns

NPR  

New Lethal Injection Drug Raises Concerns Enlarge this image toggle caption AP AP Corrections officials across the country are looking for new options amid a dwindling supply of one of the three drugs used for lethal injections in most states. LoParo says the new drug is widely available, although he would not release the name of Ohio's supplier, saying only …

Executions put on hold in U.S. because of national shortage of lethal injection drug
14 years, 6 months ago

Executions put on hold in U.S. because of national shortage of lethal injection drug

Daily Mail  

Executions put on hold in U.S. because of national shortage of lethal injection drug Executions in the U.S. have been put on hold because of a shortage of one of the drugs used in lethal injections across the country. Several of the 35 states that rely on lethal injection are either scrambling to find sodium thiopental - an anaesthetic that …

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