Sun Pharma, which is based in India, has pub­licly dis­so­ci­at­ed itself from the use of its drugs in upcom­ing Arkansas exe­cu­tions. The com­pa­ny said it pro­hibits the sale of its prod­ucts to enti­ties that might use them for killing. Sun Pharma was noti­fied of the pos­si­ble mis­use of its prod­ucts by the Associated Press, which had obtained redact­ed pho­tographs of the drugs Arkansas planned to use in eight sched­uled exe­cu­tions. A recent­ly passed secre­cy law allows the state to with­hold the source of its exe­cu­tion drugs from pub­lic scruti­ny. (Virginia​’s Supreme Court also recent­ly shield­ed some infor­ma­tion about exe­cu­tions from the pub­lic.) Other com­pa­nies whose drugs might be used by Arkansas have also object­ed. Hikma Pharmaceuticals said it was inves­ti­gat­ing whether Arkansas had obtained mida­zo­lam from one of its sub­sidiaries, and Hospira, which was iden­ti­fied as a pos­si­ble source of the potas­si­um chlo­ride that Arkansas plans to use, was one of the first com­pa­nies to bar its drugs from executions.

The AP obtained redact­ed pho­tographs and oth­er infor­ma­tion about Arkansas’s drugs through a Freedom of Information Act request. The AP then con­tact­ed the drug com­pa­nies based on whether their labels appeared to match the pho­tos. Arkansas has not car­ried out an exe­cu­tion since 2005.

(Associated Press, ​“Arkansas: Objections Raised Over Use of Drugs in Executions,” The New York Times, September 22, 2015). See Lethal Injection and Recent Legislation.

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