Texas prison system running out of execution drug
The nation's most active death penalty state is running out of its execution drug.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Thursday that its remaining supply of pentobarbital expires in September and that no alternatives have been found. It wasn't immediately clear whether two executions scheduled for next month would be delayed. The state has already executed 11 death-row inmates this year, and at least seven more have execution dates in coming months.
"We will be unable to use our current supply of pentobarbital after it expires," agency spokesman Jason Clark said. "We are exploring all options at this time."
Texas switched to the lethal, single-dose sedative last year after one of the drugs used in its three-drug execution process became difficult to obtain and the state's supply expired. Other death-penalty states have encountered similar problems after some drug suppliers barred the drugs' use for executions or have refused, under pressure from death-penalty opponents, to sell or manufacture drugs for use in executions.
<snip>
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEXAS_EXECUTION_DRUG_SHORTAGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-08-01-20-57-14
= new reply since forum marked as read
