Records show several states that use sodium thiopental for lethal injections have scrambled to find enough of the drug because of manufacturing issues. Among them:
- ALABAMA: Says it has enough unexpired sodium thiopental to carry out Wednesday's execution of Leroy White, sentenced to die for the Oct. 17, 1988, shotgun slaying in Huntsville of his 35-year-old estranged wife, Ruby.
- CALIFORNIA: California tried to recruit private doctors to procure the drug and went from state to state looking for supplies, including Arizona, Indiana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, records show. The state also contacted dozens of hospitals and general surgery centers, VA hospitals and the federal Bureau of Prisons, and even looked into obtaining a supply from Pakistan.
- MISSOURI: Officials told The Associated Press in fall 2010 that its supply would expire this year. Documents released by the ACLU said the state has enough for five executions but it's unclear when that stock expires. Without explanation, Gov. Jay Nixon spared a Missouri inmate scheduled to die Wednesday; the state's next scheduled execution is Feb. 9.
TENNESSEE: Tennessee in early 2010 gave Georgia and Arkansas some of its sodium thiopental. But by summer, with a fall execution pending, they scrambled to find their own supply. On Sept. 9, the prison where Tennessee executions are held ordered sodium thiopental, apparently from a British company. It was delivered by Oct. 26, just days before a scheduled execution.
- TEXAS: Has enough of the drug to carry out 39 executions, but the supply expires in March, according to records obtained by the AP through a public records request. The state is waiting to see if the drug's sole U.S. manufacturer will have supplies to buy soon, Texas prisons spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said. Death row inmate Cleve Foster received a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday night on an unrelated appeal. He was sentenced to die for the abduction, rape and shooting death of Nyaneur "Mary" Pal on Valentine's Day 2002.
- VIRGINIA: Virginia, which executed a woman in late September, had an expired batch in early August that it tried unsuccessfully to get the FDA to approve, according to e-mails obtained by the ACLU from the California prison system. Virginia executed a woman about six weeks later and said it was in the same position as other states when it came to its supply. Virginia's prison department declined to comment.
- WASHINGTON STATE: Officials checked with the state's hospitals until they found one willing to provide the drug last year, according to an internal California prisons department e-mail released by the ACLU. It's common practice when the prison system is looking for drug supplies to contact local pharmacies, many of which are at community hospitals, said Washington prisons spokeswoman Maria Peterson.
- CALIFORNIA: California tried to recruit private doctors to procure the drug and went from state to state looking for supplies, including Arizona, Indiana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, records show. The state also contacted dozens of hospitals and general surgery centers, VA hospitals and the federal Bureau of Prisons, and even looked into obtaining a supply from Pakistan.
- MISSOURI: Officials told The Associated Press in fall 2010 that its supply would expire this year. Documents released by the ACLU said the state has enough for five executions but it's unclear when that stock expires. Without explanation, Gov. Jay Nixon spared a Missouri inmate scheduled to die Wednesday; the state's next scheduled execution is Feb. 9.
TENNESSEE: Tennessee in early 2010 gave Georgia and Arkansas some of its sodium thiopental. But by summer, with a fall execution pending, they scrambled to find their own supply. On Sept. 9, the prison where Tennessee executions are held ordered sodium thiopental, apparently from a British company. It was delivered by Oct. 26, just days before a scheduled execution.
- TEXAS: Has enough of the drug to carry out 39 executions, but the supply expires in March, according to records obtained by the AP through a public records request. The state is waiting to see if the drug's sole U.S. manufacturer will have supplies to buy soon, Texas prisons spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said. Death row inmate Cleve Foster received a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday night on an unrelated appeal. He was sentenced to die for the abduction, rape and shooting death of Nyaneur "Mary" Pal on Valentine's Day 2002.
- VIRGINIA: Virginia, which executed a woman in late September, had an expired batch in early August that it tried unsuccessfully to get the FDA to approve, according to e-mails obtained by the ACLU from the California prison system. Virginia executed a woman about six weeks later and said it was in the same position as other states when it came to its supply. Virginia's prison department declined to comment.
- WASHINGTON STATE: Officials checked with the state's hospitals until they found one willing to provide the drug last year, according to an internal California prisons department e-mail released by the ACLU. It's common practice when the prison system is looking for drug supplies to contact local pharmacies, many of which are at community hospitals, said Washington prisons spokeswoman Maria Peterson.
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