Arkansas obtains lethal
injection drug ahead of eight executions
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[March 14, 2017] By
Steve Barnes
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) - Arkansas has
acquired a new supply of a drug needed for its lethal injections ahead
of next month's scheduled executions of eight men over four nights, a
state corrections spokesman said on Monday.
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Arkansas, which has not put an inmate to death since 2005, is one of
several states where executions have been on hold because of legal
battles and problems in procuring lethal injection drugs after a
sales ban by major pharmaceutical makers.
The state’s stock of potassium chloride expired on Jan. 31.
Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson signed an order for the
executions about a month later, despite the lack of the drug.
A new batch of the drug arrived in the state last Wednesday,
Arkansas Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves said by
phone. He would not disclose how the state got it, citing an
Arkansas law prohibiting disclosure of the source of drugs used for
executions.
“I can confirm that we have obtained an additional amount of
potassium chloride sufficient to carry out the executions scheduled
by the governor,” Graves said.
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A spokesman for the governor said Hutchinson had maintained
confidence in the correction department's ability to procure the
drug.
Hutchinson acted after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected appeals from
the eight inmates, who contended they were entitled to know the
source of the drugs in order to avoid unnecessary pain during the
executions.
Arkansas uses potassium chloride in combination with vecuronium
bromide and midazolam. The latter drug is intended to render the
inmate unconscious before the other two chemicals are administered
to paralyze the lungs and stop the heart.
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Death penalty opponents contend midazolam is not effective, citing
several executions in three other states in which the condemned
appeared to writhe in pain before succumbing.
The lethal injections in Arkansas are set to take place in pairs
from April 17 to 27.
No state has executed more than two men in a single month in the
past 20 years and none has performed eight executions in 10 days,
according to the Washington-based nonprofit Death Penalty
Information Center.
(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney)
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