Entries tagged with “Harris Pharma”
Issues
Apr 15, 2021
Arizona DoC Paid $1.5 Million for Execution Drugs While Facing a Budget Crisis
At a time in which the Arizona Department of Corrections is facing criticism for crumbling infrastructure, substandard medical care, and understaffing, the department has spent $1.5 million to purchase the lethal-injection drug pentobarbital from an undisclosed source. The exorbitant price, experts say, is a function of the questionable use of the drug for non-medical purposes and the secretive nature of the transaction. Records obtained by The Guardian show that, in October 2020, Arizona…
Issues
May 20, 2020
Nebraska Supreme Court Orders Release of Lethal-Injection Drug Records
In a major victory for media outlets and prisoner advocates, the Nebraska Supreme Court has ordered the state’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to release public records related to the procurement of drugs used in the 2018 execution of Carey Dean Moore (pictured). The court rejected the state’s argument that drug suppliers and manufacturers are members of the execution team whose identities may be shielded from disclosure but permitted DCS to redact information that could identify…
Executions
Aug 09, 2018
Drugmaker Sues Nebraska, as 15 Death-Penalty States Oppose Ruling Blocking Use of Drugs in Nevada
Less than a month after a Nevada court halted the execution of Scott Dozier in response to a lawsuit filed by generic-drug manufacturer Alvogen, another drug company has sued Nebraska, seeking to block the use of its medicines in an upcoming execution. The German-based pharmaceutical company Fresenius Kabi filed suit in Nebraska federal court on August 8, 2018 alleging that Nebraska intended to execute Carey Dean Moore on August 14 using drugs manufactured by the company that had been obtained…
Executions
Jul 05, 2017
Execution Drugs Three States Attempted to Illegally Import Have Now Expired
Three thousand vials of the anesthetic sodium thiopental that three states attempted to illegally import into the United States for use in executions have now expired, according to an investigative report by BuzzFeed News. Arizona, Nebraska, and Texas each purchased 1000 vials of the drug in 2015 from a questionable supplier in India called Harris Pharma, despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that importation of the drug would violate federal law. Citing documents…
Executions
Jan 04, 2017
Texas Sues Food and Drug Administration Over Seizure of Execution Drugs
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice filed suit on January 3, 2017 against the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the FDA’s continued detention of drugs Texas had attempted to import for executions. In October 2015, Texas and Arizona attempted to import sodium thiopental, an anesthetic commonly used in executions prior to 2010, from Harris Pharma, a supplier in India. The FDA halted both shipments, saying that their import violated federal law. The FDA does not comment on…
Executions
Oct 23, 2015
Arizona, Texas Attempted to Import Illegal Lethal Injection Drugs Linked to Indian Supplier with Troubling History
Arizona and Texas attempted to import lethal injection drugs in violation of federal law, but the shipments were halted by U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials in late July, according to reports by The Arizona Republic and Buzzfeed. The Republic reports that the Arizona Department of Corrections paid $27,000 for sodium thiopental for use in executions, but the shipment was halted at the Phoenix airport by U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials. BuzzFeed reports that on the same…