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Death-row drug dilemma

Nature (2011)Cite this article

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Lack of anaesthetic used in lethal injection exposes ethics gaps in the supply chain.

A shortage of a drug used in executions in the United States has sent US states scrambling to find supplies, or alternative drugs. Among the 35 states in which capital punishment is legal, some — including Arizona and California — had been sourcing a key execution drug, sodium thiopental, through a company in London — until UK government officials put a stop to its export. The only US company making the drug, which sought to move its manufacturing base to Italy, has now given up producing sodium thiopental because it cannot assure Italian officials that it won't be used for executions.

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References

  1. Koniaris, L. G., Zimmers, T. A., Lubarsky, D. A. & Sheldon, J. P. Lancet 365, 1412-1414 (2005).

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  1. Emma Marris
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Marris, E. Death-row drug dilemma. Nature (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2011.53

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2011.53

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