The federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against Arizona’s lethal injection protocol promised a quick ruling on the state’s motion to dismiss the case.
At the end of a hearing Thursday, U.S District Court Judge Neil V. Wake encouraged the parties to move forward with discovery and help move the case along.
Representing seven men facing the death chamber, as well as a coalition of news media, lawyers for the plaintiffs argue the state’s proposed execution method violates the First, Eighth and Fourteenth amendments.
Their case focuses on a trio drugs the state wants to use for lethal injections. Those include midazolam, which was used in the so-called botched execution of Joseph Wood in 2014. The plaintiffs have said in court documents another drug hides midazolam’s failure to prevent pain by paralyzing the inmate
The defense argued Thursday that it chose midazolam based on a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Oklahoma death penalty case, Glossip vs. Gross.
State officials have said its supply of midazolam will expire next month.
EDITOR'S NOTE: KJZZ is a member of the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, which is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
