Jeffrey Landrigan was executed in Arizona using a foreign made drug. The first of three drugs administered to Landrigan in his execution was sodium thiopental, a sedative that has been scarce in the US because of raw material problems with its sole American manufacturer. To make up for its scarcity, Arizona obtained the drug from Britain. Landrigan's lawyers challenged this in court because federal inspectors have not approved any of the drug's overseas manufacturers (Frayer).
US District Judge Roslyn Silver issued a restraining order to postpone Landrigan's execution before the origin of the drug was released. Silver wanted to assure that the drug was safe and would not cause any undue pain and suffering. At first, federal courts supported her appeal, but the US Supreme Court stepped in and overturned the orders. "There is no evidence in the record to suggest that the drug obtained from a foreign source is unsafe. There was no showing that the drug was unlawfully obtained, nor was there an offer of proof to that effect," said the court. The Supreme Court's decision came from a 5-4 vote in favor of Landrigan's execution (Frayer).
The state attorney general's office revealed that the drug was from Britain, making it the first time a state has revealed that sodium thiopental was obtained from an overseas source. Tim Nelson, the Chief Deputy Attorney General, said that the origin was revealed to assure people that the drug came from a reliable source. He did not name the company that manufactured it. "This drug came from a reputable source. There's all sorts of wild speculation that it came from a third-world country, and that's not accurate," he said (Times Union). .
A nationwide shortage of sodium thiopental has temporarily slowed the pace of executions since last spring. Other states, along with Arizona, could obtain the drug from overseas sources. However, this could lead to an increase in lawsuits from inmates protesting the use of a foreign-made drug that has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (Frayer).
