Nebraska Attorney General Defends Purchase of Lethal Injection Drug

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning filed documents with the State Court today showing that he was not the victim of a con when he purchased lethal injection drugs for use in the State.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services had made an announcement that Swiss company Naari AG had provided them with the doses of sodium thiopental they needed to restart the State’s death machine. The drug is not manufactured in the US any longer and getting it international is extremely difficult, especially when its used is to kill someone.

The state plans to use the drug for a pending execution, but the condemned man’s attorney filed a brief with the State court that the drug was supposed to be used only for “test and evaluation” as an anesthetic in Zambia and not sold.

Indian company, Harris Pharma LLP, bought the drug from Swiss manufacturer Naari and then sold doses to Nebraska and this is where the trail gets funny. Naari’s chief executive Prithi Kochhar had sent Bruning a letter explaining that doses were free samples provided for Zambian tests and “wrongfully diverted.” Kochhar said Naari would never support use of the drug in executions. Most European countries prohibit company’s from providing anything that can be used in lethal injections.

The Attorney General said,

“Naari clearly knew, based on the emails . . . that this drug was being sold to Chris Harris,”

He added, “I think it’s outrageous that the conversation continues to be about the method of execution as opposed to the brutal murders committed by Michael Ryan and Carey Dean Moore,”

Do you think the State should be allowed to use these questionable lethal injection drug?