From Nebraska, the Omaha World-Herald reports, "Chambers letter twits Bruning." It's by Joe Duggan.
Nebraska's most ardent opponent of capital punishment has accused Attorney General Jon Bruning of trying to gain a campaign advantage by conducting an execution before the election.
Former State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha sent Bruning a letter last week chastising him for continuing to push for an execution using death drugs that were allegedly obtained illegitimately. Bruning is seeking the Republican nomination for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Ben Nelson.
"You seem to be counting on the death penalty ... to transmogrify into the beneficent goose that will lay for you the golden egg of a seat in the U.S. Senate," Chambers wrote.
Bruning's campaign manager, Trent Fellers, declined to comment Monday.
Chambers says he intends to run for the north Omaha legislative seat he was forced by term limits to relinquish in 2008.
Much of Chambers' 4½-page letter centers on the state's acquisition of sodium thiopental, the first of three drugs to be used to carry out a lethal injection.
Earlier coverage of Nebraska lethal injection issues begins at the link.
The Oregonian posts, "Oregon's unused death penalty drugs test pharmaceutical company leaders," by Joe Rojas-Burke.
Oregon's unused lethal injection drugs have set the stage for a test of the sincerity of pharmaceutical executives who say they don't want their products used to execute prisoners.Since Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber cancelled the planned Dec. 6 execution of convicted murderer Gary Haugen, the state has returned the lethal injection drugs to an undisclosed wholesaler. Oregon had obtained 20 50-milliliter vials of pentobarbital; 50 10-milliliter vials of pancuronium and 50 20-milliliter vials of potassium chloride. The supply cost nearly $18,000 and Oregon expects to get much of the money back.
Most physician and nursing organizations have come out strongly against medically assisted executions. American Medical Association guidelines prohibit almost every type of involvement: Physicians should not attend or observe executions, give technical advice, select injection sites, start intravenous lines, prescribe or prepare the drugs or inspect or test lethal injection devices. Last year, the American Board of Anesthesiology decided that involvement in lethal injection is grounds to revoke an anesthesiologist's board certification.Physicians and influential medical journals have begun pressuring pharmaceutical companies that supply lethal injection drugs to the 34 U.S. states that impose death penalty sentences.
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