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A few hours before Nevada made the country's first lethal injection using the potent opioid fentanyl, a judge suspended execution due to a challenge from a pharmaceutical company that is opposed to the state plan to use any of its products. a sedative for the procedure.
Nevada's plans to use fentanyl as part of the execution of Scott Dozier – a convicted murderer who said he wants the lethal injection to continue – in make the latest in a series of states While other states are turning to relatively unknown chemicals, Nevada's plan stands out for its reliance on fentanyl, a synthetic painkiller that has helped feed the drugs. the ongoing opioid epidemic in the country. According to what happens in the case of Dozier, Nebraska could finally carry out the first execution badisted by fentanyl, which the state seeks to do this summer
[States to try new ways of executing prisoners. Their latest idea? Opioids.]
Dozier, 47, was recognized guilty of killing a man in a Las Vegas hotel. Dozier was also clear on his desire to have the execution performed.
"Life in prison is not a life," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. the week. "It's not alive, man, it's just surviving.If people say they're going to kill me, get there."
Although Dozier does not argue not to run, Nevada officials have been facing a late challenge from Alvogen, a pharmaceutical firm who said that drug, sedative midazolam. Alvogen pointed to some of these court-related incidents, including the failed execution of Oklahoma in 2014 that saw a grimace and kick of an inmate, an execution in Arizona that same year who took nearly two hours and Alabama 2016 execution who had witnesses telling that the detainee was coughing and raising himself up.
Alvogen asked a judge to prevent Nevada from using his drug and asked that the product be returned. During a Wednesday hearing, Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, who chairs the civilian division of Clark County District Court, banned the state from using its midazolam supply in the United States. Dozier's execution, according to a spokesman for the court. Gonzalez also put a status check in the case of September.
Lawyer Todd Bice, representing Alvogen, a drug maker, appears before Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez on Wednesday in Las Vegas. Alvogen sued to prevent Nevada from using his drugs in Scott Dozier's execution. According to Nevada's enforcement protocol on Wednesday, the state plan was to inject three drugs to Dozier: midazolam to relieve him, fentanyl to make him lose consciousness and cisatracurium. to paralyze his muscles. Medical experts have warned that the final drug could make the procedure riskier, arguing that if one or the other of the first two drugs is mishandled or does not work, Dozier could potentially remain conscious while the crippling makes him unable to move or breathe. Nevada's Department of Corrections spokesman declined before the hearing to comment on the company's lawsuit or allegations that the state got the drugs wrong, citing the court appearance. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Gonzalez's decision on the next steps of the state.
[ Pharmaceutical companies attack Arkansas executions and claim lethal injections]
Alvogen, in a statement hearing, said he was happy Gonzalez has granted a temporary restraining order blocking the use of midazolam in the run, which was scheduled for Wednesday night. Alvogen said that he "does not tolerate the use of his medications, including midazolam, for state-sponsored executions."
Death row convict Scott Dozier, right, speaks with his lawyer last year. (Ken Ritter / AP)
A lawyer for Dozier could not be reached for comment on Wednesday immediately after the decision. The American Union of Civil Liberties Nevada had asked the state to put an end to the execution and accused state officials of a lack of transparency "flagrant" in terms of execution.
The Alvogen Challenge in Nevada Courts prevent Arkansas from using a chemical that it has sold as part of a series of tests. planned executions. The legal maneuver eventually failed and Arkansas proceeded with four executions in eight days using this drug.
[Fourth Arkansas execution in eight days prompts questions about inmate’s movements]
Legal battles between states and drug companies have highlighted the opposition of companies to the chemicals used in executions. has forced states to scramble to get the chemicals they want for lethal injections. In response, states including Ohio, Florida, and Oklahoma have adopted or suggested new and untested drug combinations. States have also considered measures going beyond lethal injection.
Oklahoma said this year that it would use nitrogen for all operations, while others would turn to other methods, including platoons. Run in Tennessee. The execution of Dozier was stopped earlier because of court battles centered on the drugs involved. Originally, Nevada had not intended to use midazolam in its implementation, but the authorities said it had to go there after that. his supply of diazepam – a sedative better known as Valium – has expired.
Nevada last performed in 2006. [19659020Furtherreading:
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