http://www.legaltranscriptionservice.com - The shortage of a conventionally used lethal injection drug has resulted in some US states turning to untested drugs from unreliable sources that do not cause death instantly.

1. Secret Drugs for Executions in America
The shortage of a conventionally used lethal injection drug has resulted in some US
states turning to untested drugs from unreliable sources that do not cause death
instantly.
Capital punishment by lethal injection in the United States always seemed to be a
straightforward thing, but not anymore.
The conventionally approved lethal injection drugs have been short supply for a few
years now, and states are using untested alternatives that may bring about pain and
suffering during the execution process. The alarming fact is that these states have
even been covering up the details regarding their drug procurement, not revealing
what the drug alternatives are and the agencies they’ve procured them from.
Agonizing deaths have been reported in a few states and the situation just keeps
getting murkier.
Thiopental Stoppage Started it All
It all started with the sudden shortage of the conventionally used anesthetic
thiopental the production of which was stopped in 2011 by Hospira, the American
pharmaceutical firm. It was then imported by the departments of corrections of
various states before federal courts prohibited the FDA (Food and Drug
Administration) from allowing their import. Some states began sourcing
pentobarbital instead of thiopental, but then its Danish manufacturer Lundbeck made
the drug unavailable for the purpose of executions since it did not want its corporate
name to be tied up with capital punishment.
Most states were then left with the option of sourcing pentobarbital from the
compounding pharmacies that mix drugs to create products which do not have FDA
approval. And this is when the trouble started.
Agonizing Deaths of Inmates
In Missouri, William Rousan, a 57-year-old convict, was executed in April using a
‘secret drug’. In January, Oklahoma prison inmate Michael Lee Wilson using
pentobarbital did not result in instant death - it caused a burning sensation, causing
Wilson to cry out in pain before he died. That’s not how lethal injection executions
are supposed to be. The injection of pentobarbital should result in the person losing
consciousness and awareness till the onset of death. This suggests that the
compounding pharmacy charged with supplying pentobarbital did not supply the
right drug or supplied a flawed product.
The suspected supplier is supposed to have supplied pentobarbital for the flawed
execution of Christopher Sepulvado in Louisiana on February 5. However, this
pharmacy has not been licensed to sell drugs in either of these states or even in
Missouri which is suspected of sourcing its lethal injection drug from that pharmacy.

2. Problems from Midazolam and Hydromorphone
Some states have resorted to the use of a midazolam and hydromorphone mixture,
but even this has caused problems. The early January execution of Dennis McGuire in
Ohio is a case in point. After being injected with the combination of midzolam and
hydromorphone, McGuire experienced breathing trouble for around 10 minutes and
choked and snorted. There was a heaving of his stomach and chest and his left hand
was clenched tight all through the ordeal. It took well over 15 minutes for McGuire to
die.
Inmates Demand to Know
These unpleasant incidents have resulted in lawsuits filed by death row inmates
against the authorities demanding that they need to know the drugs that would be
used for their execution. Recently, states including Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee
have passed more and more secrecy laws preventing the public from knowing the
execution drugs used and the pharmacies supplying them. These laws enable states
to conveniently conceal vital information regarding how the drugs work to cause
death and whether they do so humanely. The hiding of information also extends to
the way the states have obtained their execution drugs and whether that was done
in a legitimate manner.
States Usually Win
With such a major legal roadblock to tackle, prisoners have faced an uphill struggle
to get their demands met. This was evident in two recent execution lawsuits in
Texas. As per precedent, the state was required to reveal the source of its execution
drugs. One of the executions was halted by a federal judge till the state disclosed the
supplier, only for the state’s Department of Criminal Justice to file an appeal and win
it for the executions to go ahead. The Supreme Court chose not to intervene.
Minor Victory for Inmates
In Oklahoma though, a trial court ruled that that state’s secrecy law was in violation
of the rights of access of the state Constitution to the courts. In Louisiana, federal
courts ordered information about the drugs to be used in a forthcoming execution to
be revealed along with data regarding their testing. These minor victories are the
result of efficient work by attorneys representing the death row inmates. Their
efficiency would also have been the result of outsourced solutions such as efficient
legal transcription services.
Inmates have one major support in terms of the Eighth Amendment which clearly
states that the means of carrying out capital punishment must be effectively
scrutinized to ensure that they cause death in a painless and humane manner.
However, for this matter to be fully sorted out the shortage of the tried and tested
execution drugs has to be addressed.