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More on Lethal Injection Drug Shortage

By Steve Hall

At NPR's Two-Way blog, Korva Coleman has posted, "Execution Drugs In Short Supply."The Arizona Republic reports two of three medications used to carry out executions aren't readily available. They are thiopental sodium (better known as sodium pentothal) administered to put the condemned to sleep, and pancuronium bromide, the drug that paralyzes the body.  (The third drug is potassium chloride, the poison that stops the heart.)  Hospira produces the two necessary medications: the company says there's been excessive demand for pancuronium and trouble with manufacturing for thiopental.  Arizona has no scheduled executions, although 133 prisoners are on death row.Ohio now uses only thiopental sodium to execute prisoners and the state had trouble locating enough of the drug to put prisoner Michael Beuke to death in May...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on July 08, 2010 (boomark / email).