The Arizona Department of Corrections says its supply of a controversial lethal injection drug has expired, it can’t get any more and the state is unable to carry out executions.
Lawyers for the state filed notice in federal court Friday they are removing the drug midazolam from the execution protocol.
Midazolam was used in the so-called botched execution of Joseph Wood in 2014.
Arizona’s supply of the drug expired at the end of May, and the source for more "has vanished under pressure from death penalty opponents,” according to court documents.
“The state’s decision not to use midazolam is significant," said Dale Baich, an assistant federal public defender who represents condemned inmates that are plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Arizona’s death penalty protocol. “As we’ve said all along, this drug should not be used to carry out executions.”
Defense attorneys also want the judge to consider whether the lawsuit should go forward. Since midazolam is no longer part of the lethal injection protocol, they suggested the suit is moot.
The plaintiffs disagree. Their lawyers wrote the case should continue because the state still allows the director of the Department of Corrections to change execution protocols at any time.
“I think what needs to happen is there needs to be a more specific, clear path and plan put forward by the state that’s vetted by the court and understood by the public,” Baich said.
The sides are due back in court on June 29.
