Sodium thiopental

[leopard32]

But on Friday, 01-21, the Wall Street Journal’s Nathan Koppel broke the news that Hospira Inc., based in Lake Forest, Ill., has decided to permanently halt production of thiopental sodium, a key drug widely used by states in lethal injections.

Hospira’s decision puts a wrench in the nation’s capital-punishment system. States can attempt to use another anesthetic in place of thiopental, but such a switch likely would need to be approved by courts and possibly state legislators.

Many states have already run out of thiopental, forcing prison officials to delay executions. The drug shortage followed a 2009 decision by Hospira to suspend production due to manufacturing issues.

The Lake Forest, Ill., company had planned to resume producing thiopental in the first quarter of 2011 at a company plant in Liscate, Italy. But in December, the Italian parliament issued an order binding the government to ensure that Hospira’s Italian-made thiopental would not be used in lethal injections.

In the face of that opposition, Hospira ultimately decided to exit the thiopental market, said company spokeswoman Tareta Adams. “This will be a challenge for [medical] customers and we regret that,” Ms. Adams said. “But we don’t want to put our Italian facility at risk that the product will be misused” by U.S. prisons.

[Naviator]

I understand Hospira's position, and respect that.  I expect states to consider other drugs (such as Oklahoma).  I know in China they supposedly have an execution bus/van that they drive to different prisons to carry out executions.  Perhaps they are using sodium thiopenthal??

[phlebbb]

Sodium thiopental may be the 1st drug used in executions in many states , however, it has been shown, that it is not the end all be all drug and can be replaced  i.e... Oklahoma and Ohio. Pentobarbital has been shown to work, and judging by the recent executions in Oklahoma, works damn well.It may require some legalistic juggling,but, this is merely a hiccup ....time to drive onto the next one.

[ScoopD (aka: Pam)]

Hmmmmm  I wonder what Texas is gonna do since their supply has a March expiration date...   

[Rick4404]

I heard a quick blurb on one of the network radio newscasts that Hospira actually has an overseas affiliate which makes the drug, and the company is discontinuing making the drug because of all of the opposition to the death penalty in these mainly European countries.

It seems to me that the federal government and the states would be free to use any drug as the first drug in the three drug protocol that renders an inmate unconscious. It would depend upon how a particular state's statutes and/or execution protocols are written.

It is my understanding that most states that use lethal injection merely require that an execution by lethal injection be performed through "The intravenous injection of a lethal quantity of a substance or substances, sufficient in quantity and strength, to cause the inmate's unconsciousness and death."

When Oklahoma first introduced lethal injection, they used wording, "The punishment of death shall be inflicted by an intravenous injection of an ultra-short acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent." This wording was initially adopted by many of the death penalty states.

It seems to me that all the states would have to do is modify the wording of their protocols if sodium thiopental is specifically prescribed.

[leopard32]

I agree with what Rick says above, but my concern is that any change, e.g., to Phenobarbital sodium, simply opens the door to another round of legal challenges.  Just because this drug works fine in Oklahoma doesn't mean that it would work in another state, at least according to defense attorneys.  This is why each state has to "reinvent the wheel" every time it needs to make any change to its execution protocol.

I wonder if any state has the courage to dump lethal injection and return to its former method.  Shooting, hanging and electrocution have not been ruled unconstitutional and shooting and electrocution were both used (successfully) in 2010.

[JonnyTwoToes]

Scary reading:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9342000/9342976.stm

"Mr Alavi declined to give an interview, claiming he had "no idea" why Carson McWilliams, the warden of the Arizona State Prison Complex, had ordered the three drugs: the anaesthetics sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride, which is used in a diluted form to treat people with potassium deficiency."

Yeah right!

[Russki]

Sorry, why is this 'scary'?

[JonnyTwoToes]

Sorry, why is this 'scary'?

A back street unlicensed, unqualified drug seller providing the three ingredients of the cocktail for lethal injection.

Personally, I find that scary.

[Dilligaf]

Sorry, why is this 'scary'?

A back street unlicensed, unqualified drug seller providing the three ingredients of the cocktail for lethal injection.

Personally, I find that scary.

Yeah, such actions might just kill a person.  Oh, wait.................

[spinaltap]

Hmmmmm  I wonder what Texas is gonna do since their supply has a March expiration date...   

Hopefully juice as many as they can before it expires or runs out!

[Rick4404]

I agree with what Rick says above, but my concern is that any change, e.g., to Phenobarbital sodium, simply opens the door to another round of legal challenges.  Just because this drug works fine in Oklahoma doesn't mean that it would work in another state, at least according to defense attorneys.  This is why each state has to "reinvent the wheel" every time it needs to make any change to its execution protocol.

I wonder if any state has the courage to dump lethal injection and return to its former method.  Shooting, hanging and electrocution have not been ruled unconstitutional and shooting and electrocution were both used (successfully) in 2010.

For the states to return to their former methods would in large part be easier said than done. First of all, there are only a handful of working electric chairs left in the country and no company to the best of my knowledge makes spare parts for them. Same with gas chambers. The handful of gas chambers that are still in place are very likely old and in a state of disrepair. It would cost a lot of money to attempt to repair and refurbish a gas chamber so it could be used again. Lethal gas is probably the most dangerous way of carrying out an execution. If the chamber itself has even the tiniest of leaks, the gas could escape and poison the prison workers and witnesses who are in the same room.

Hanging and firing squad would be workable, time honored alternatives. Both have been held to be constitutional. Before any change could take place, the state legislatures would have to change their respective state laws.

[kanga]

What if the States with the DP on their Statutes set up the Chinese version of the "WINNEBAGO",
ie: Mobile Execution Vehicle ( MEV ).

It could be organised similar to the Fed Circuits, eg TX,LA,MS (5th) & AL,GA,FL( 11th ) etc all have their own MEV's. Some " Circuits " may require more than one.

There would be many advantages with this in place as the individual States could pool their resourses & cut down costs.

Being " Mobile " would allow the various state residences to feel that their particular State Statutes are being inforced, as apposed for example, if all " Circuit Executions", in the case of the 5th, were all carried out in Huntsville.

I originally wrote this with " Tongue in Cheek ".

On reflection though, it may just work. It does for the Chinese!

Have a good weekend.

Kanga.
 

[leopard32]

01/21 The Nebraska Department of Corrections said Friday it has received a shipment of the last of three drugs needed to carry out death penalty executions.

The department got the supply of sodium thiopental, used to cause unconsciousness, on Jan. 7 from a pharmaceuticals company in India. A sample of the drug was tested by an independent U.S. laboratory and confirmed to be the correct drug, the department said.
END

I wonder if other states will try this.

 

[deeg]

California just received a huge supply of sodium thiopental.  I fear the drugs will expire just like the inmates will expire...naturally.  Hate to see a good product go to waste. 

Dee