Tag: sodium thiopental

The Supreme Court tonight vacated the stay of execution an Arizona federal judge issued yesterday in the case of Jeffrey Landrigan. Landrigan was scheduled to be executed this morning using sodium thiopental that was manufactured by a company outside the U.S. which was not an FDA approved manufacturer of the drug.

Arizona appealed to the 9th Circuit, did not prevail, and the matter was referred to the full court later today. Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, and Bryer would have denied the state's request and kept the stay in place.

Arizona authorities are preparing the execution chamber now, so they can kill him within the 34 hour period set by the death warrant.

Here's what the order says (received by email, no link): [More...]

Last week we wrote about the impending Arizona execution of Jeffrey Landrigan. Landrigan alleged that the sodium thiopental Arizona planned to inject into Landrigan was not made by Hospira, Inc., the one U.S. company authorized to manufacture it. In other words, it came from a foreign source. He sought a stay and an order compelling the state to disclose the origin of the drug. The Arizona Supreme Court denied both requests.

With only 18 hours left before the execution, a federal judge today granted Landrigan a stay and ordered Arizona to immediately disclose the source of the drug. The court's 19 page ruling is here.

According to the Arizona Republic, the drug came comes from Great Britain. [More...]

Update: The Arizona Supreme Court has denied the requests for a stay of execution and to produce information about the drug's origin. The ruling is here.

At a court hearing in Arizona today to stay the execution of Jeffrey Landrigan set for next Tuesday, the Arizona Attorney General admitted that the sodium thiopental it planned to inject into Landrigan was not made by Hospira, Inc., the one U.S. company authorized to manufacture it. In other words, it came from a foreign source.

His lawyers argue that using the drug sodium thiopental that has expired or was obtained from an unreliable source may not work correctly, potentially subjecting Landrigan to cruel and unusual punishment through death by suffocation.

They want the Supreme Court to order the state to disclose the source of the drug..... prosecutors said they can’t identify the source because state law requires confidentiality for those involved with executions.

But, the prosecutor did acknowledge it didn't come from Hospira, which isn't currently producing the drug. And no other U.S. company is authorized to manufacture it. [More...]