"Supply problems prompt state to change lethal-injection drug," is the report by the News Service of Florida, via the Orlando Sentinel.
A shrinking supply has prompted changes in the triple-drug cocktail used in executions of Florida Death Row inmates.
The Department of Corrections will begin using midazolam hydrochloride, a replacement for pentobarbital sodium, for the first time at the execution of William Frederick Happ on Oct. 15. Corrections officials signed off on the new drug protocol Sept. 9.
The drug, the first of three injections, renders the inmate unconscious.
States, including Florida, have struggled to maintain stockpiles of pentobarbital sodium because Danish-based manufacturer Lundbeck refused to sell it directly to corrections agencies for use in executions and ordered its distributors to also stop supplying the drug for lethal-injection purposes.
DOC spokeswoman Jessica Cary said the department is switching to the new drug because its stock of pentobarbital sodium will expire at the end of November.
Earlier coverage from Florida begins at the link. Related posts are in the lethal injection category index.
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