"Missouri Department of Corrections adopts new one-drug execution protocol," is the DoC news release.
The Missouri Department of Corrections announced today that it has adopted a new one-drug execution protocol, using pentobarbital, which will be administered intravenously. This replaces propofol, which the department had intended to use in future executions. The change became necessary due to concerns about the use of propofol for this purpose.
The department also announced that it has added a compounding pharmacy to its execution team. The compounding pharmacy will be responsible for providing pentobarbital for executions carried out under the new protocol.
The next execution in Missouri — that of offender Joseph Paul Franklin — is scheduled for Nov. 20, 2013. Franklin was sentenced to death for the October 1977 murder of Gerald Gordon in St. Louis.
"Missouri Switches to New Execution Drug," is the AP report filed by Jim Salter. It's via ABC News.
The Missouri Department of Corrections said Tuesday it is switching to a new lethal injection drug, less than two weeks after the governor halted executions until it could find a replacement for the anesthetic propofol.
The Corrections Department said in a news release that it will use the sedative pentobarbital. Death Penalty Information Center director Richard Dieter said 13 states use the drug for executions. He said every execution but one over the past two years in the U.S. used pentobarbital.
And:
It wasn't immediately clear how much pentobarbital Missouri has. Messages seeking comment from Corrections Department spokesman David Owen were not immediately returned. Franklin's attorneys did not respond to interview requests.
States have been scrambling to find execution drug alternatives in recent years because manufacturers don't want their products used in executions. Missouri last carried out an execution in 2011. It had previously used a three-drug method but switched to propofol in April 2012. It was the only state to make that switch, but no executions were ever carried out with propofol, a drug that made headlines in 2009 when pop star Michael Jackson died of an overdose.
Missouri is also adding a compounding pharmacy to its execution team, which will be responsible for providing pentobarbital for executions, the news release said. Typically, compounding pharmacists process ingredients to fit the needs of individual patients.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, "Missouri switches to new drug for executions," by Jeremy Kohler.
The state of Missouri announced today it has added a compounding pharmacy to produce lethal injections using pentobarbital after canceling an execution that was to use propofol.
On Oct. 11, Gov. Jay Nixon postponed the execution of murderer Allen Nicklasson, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, because of concerns about the state’s plan to use a lethal dose of propofol, a common surgical anesthetic.
The European Union, which is against the death penalty, had threatened to cut off supplies of the drug to the U.S. if the execution went forward, which could have had a widespread impact on hospitals.
"Corrections Department announces plan to use pentobarbital in executions," by Zachary Matson in the Columbia Missourian.
In its announcement in a news release, the Corrections Department also said it “has added a compounding pharmacy to its execution team” that will be responsible for supplying the pentobarbital. The news release does not identify the compounding pharmacy or where it is located.
Corrections Department spokesman David Owen said in an email that the identity of members of the execution team are privileged and would not be released, citing the Missouri statutes that govern the state's death penalty.
Other states have used pentobarbital in lethal injections, but the Danish manufacturer of the drug, Lundbeck, said in 2011 that it would stop selling the drug for use in executions. States such as Texas and Ohio have recently turned to compounding pharmacies to supply their needs. The pharmacies mix prescriptions for specific patients’ needs and are regulated by the states, but not the Food and Drug Administration. The drug has been used by seven states in more than 25 executions this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Earlier coverage of Missouri lethal injection issues begins at the link. A shooting victim of Joseph Franklin's has called on Missouri to commute the death sentence.
Related posts are in the international and lethal injection indexes.
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