"Oregon's Governor Puts Lethal Injection Drugs Back on the Market," is the title of Ford Vox's post this morning at the Atlantic.
Finding itself in possession of $18,000 worth of recently acquired lethal injection medications it can no longer use, Oregon's Department of Corrections is hoping to recoup its costs by returning the drugs to a distributor. This week,The Oregonian reported that the wholesaler has picked up the drugs and the state is now awaiting payment. But none of the three other Americans states that have recently halted executions made similar moves -- all for unique reasons.
Oregon's supplier will have no trouble unloading the state's unused death drugs now that Europe is actively blocking their importation into the United States. They're a hot commodity in the remaining death penalty states, but that doesn't mean they should go to market. Delivering Oregon's drugs right back into another death chamber is remarkably callous, especially given Governor John Kitzhaber's dramatic November 2011 speech explaining why he would no longer participate in the "unfair" death penalty system. He even reiterated his own personal longstanding disagreement with state-sanctioned killing.
And:
Through this series of opinion pieces, I've been making my best effort to push Kitzhaber to make the right decision here and ditch his drugs. His spokesperson last told me he's standing his ground: If the distributor will refund the money, Oregon reserves the right to send back the drugs. Now, we hear the deed is done. Words like hypocrite don't sting these days, even when backed up by the facts.
Earlier coverage of the Oregon moratorium, including more from Vox, is at the link.
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