The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, "Missouri returns some of its execution drug to supplier," by Jeremy Kohler.
The Missouri Department of Corrections said Wednesday that it would return to a supplier a drug it had planned to use for lethal injections, but left unclear whether the action would have any effect on two executions scheduled this fall.
In a statement, the department said it still had some of the drug in stock, but the department did not indicate whether there was enough to carry out executions planned for Oct. 23 and Nov. 20.
Officials previously said they possessed enough for the two executions and one more, with the last batch expiring in February 2015. Representatives for the department and Gov. Jay Nixon’s office did not return phone and email messages.
The supplier of the drug, Morris & Dickson, of Shreveport, La., had pleaded with the state to return 20 vials of propofol, which it shipped to Missouri by mistake.
The company said the shipment violated its agreement with the manufacturer, Fresenius Kabi, of Germany, not to provide the drug for capital punishment. Propofol is a common anesthetic used in health care settings.
The action came a day after the Department of Corrections released documents to the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri concerning the state’s propofol inventory.
And:
“An initial review of the limited records DOC has provided so far raises more legal and ethical questions about the state’s remaining supply of propofol,” Jeffrey Mittman, the regional ACLU’s executive director said in a statement. “We hope to find answers when DOC fully complies with its obligations under the Sunshine Law.”
The anti-death penalty European Union is considering export limits on propofol if it is used for lethal injections. Makers of the drug say that could slow movement to the U.S. and produce a propofol shortage that could endanger the well-being of American patients.
Fresenius Kabi said it was pleased that Missouri returned the drugs, but it warned that the use of propofol in any execution could still lead to sanctions against the U.S.
"Mo. Returning Execution Drug Year After Demand," is the AP coverage by Jim Salter. It's via ABC News.
The Missouri Department of Corrections said Wednesday that it will return a shipment of a common anesthetic it intended to use for executions, nearly a year after the drug distributor's urgent request for it to be sent back.
The department said in a news release that it still has a supply of propofol, but it didn't clarify whether it had enough of the drug for two upcoming executions. Phone and email messages left with the agency's spokespeople were not returned.
The announcement came a day after the department released documents to the American Civil Liberties Union, in response to an open records request, that included a Nov. 2 email sent by Dale Kelley, an executive with Louisiana-based pharmaceutical distributor Morris & Dickson Co., to Department of Corrections Director George Lombardi.
The email said a "system failure" led Morris & Dickson to send propofol to the department in violation of the company's agreement with the drug's manufacturer, Germany-based Fresenius Kabi. The email said that because of the mistake, Morris & Dickson was suspended from distributing propofol, which is by far the most popular anesthetic used at U.S. hospitals and clinics.
The drug has never been used in an execution, and Missouri's plan to use it has prompted the anti-death penalty European Union to say it could limit the drug's export. Nearly 90 percent of the U.S. supply comes from Europe.
Earlier coverage of Missouri lethal injection issues begins at the link.
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