Posted on 05/02/2012 6:47:19 PM PDT by Brandonmark
Oklahoma, which executes more prisoners per capita than any other state, said on Wednesday it has only one remaining dose of pentobarbital, a key drug used to kill condemned prisoners.
One reason the state is running out is because of a ban on the sale of drugs for such purposes by the European Union, which opposes the death penalty.
Oklahoma has a single vial of pentobarbital left after the execution on Tuesday night of 57-year-old Michael B. Selsor, prison spokesman Jerry Massie said.
Oklahoma is the first state to publicly admit it has nearly exhausted supplies of the drug but other states may follow because of the EU clamp down, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.
Pentobarbital is a sedative that is the first of a three-drug cocktail administered by Oklahoma. It is followed by vecuronium bromide, which stops breathing, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart.
Oklahoma was the first state in the country to use pentobarbital in 2010 after a shortage of another anesthetic, sodium thiopental, caused penal officials in death penalty states to look for an alternative.
Eleven other states also use it. Arizona and Ohio use a single injection of pentobarbital for executions while nine states use the multi-drug protocol, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Lundbeck Inc, the only manufacturer of pentobarbital, is located in Denmark and forbids its U.S.-based wholesalers from selling the drug for lethal injections, while the European Union forbids its member countries from exporting drugs for executions.
Oklahoma could resort to another anesthetic never used before in executions, Massie said, or it could try to tap existing supplies of pentobarbital.
A third option, he said, would entail going back to sodium thiopental.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Might I recommend high-velocity lead poisoning?
Really, the acid, good pure stuff, maybe a fog machine,
then they come in and start laughing
maniacally and poking him with pitch forks.
Then it’s off to the other world amids laughter
and derision. Give him something to think about
on the way.
Execute them...the same way they killed their victims.
Interesting concept....execution with a by-product.
Ah, yes...the gratuitous “Pulp Fiction” reference. Well played.
I don’t see why we can’t just do it like they do to cows at a slaughter house. Pneumatic rod to the skull. Instant unconsciousness followed a few seconds later by brain death. No pain what so ever.
Secobarbital is just as potent and has just about the same effects, further its marketed by an American outfit.
I can’t see where this is such an insurmountable problem.
It’s tough because the people we’ve tasked with carrying this out are squeamish, and don’t really want to come up with alternatives.
If the execution is a success the executed won’t complain.
Why not use bleach?
You’d think there was some kind of horse tranquillizer
that would work just as well.
Maybe a shot of Meth just to get that ole heart beating
good, make every thing crystal clear.
What’s wrong with Old Sparky? I’m sure they could use 100% “green” sources of power to make the environmentalists happy.
In NH, if it's not possible to use lethal injection, they go to the backup method: Hanging.
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