Calif. prison officials get supply of lethal injection drug at center of canceled execution
By APWednesday, October 6, 2010
Calif. obtains new supply of lethal injection drug
SAN FRANCISCO — California prison officials have secured a fresh supply of a lethal injection drug they ran out of last week, contributing to cancellation of the state’s first execution in nearly five years.
In a court filing Wednesday, the state attorney general’s office said it had secured 12 grams of sodium thiopental with a 2014 expiration date. The state called off the execution of Albert Greenwood Brown last Thursday after two significant legal setbacks and expiration of its seven-gram supply of the drug that night.
The court filing said it obtained the new drug Thursday but didn’t say why it couldn’t be used in the planned execution.
In previous court filings, government lawyers said they didn’t expect a new shipment until the first of the year.
