The Kerfuffle Over The Phenobarbital Shortage

Just saying: Everyone is tut-tutting that Phenobarbital is in short supply for executions. Of course, the anti-execution lobby is also made up of people that think using this same drug is just peachy for an assisted suicide.

U.S. prisons scramble for new execution drug

COLUMBUS, Ohio — States not only are having an increasingly difficult time getting the injectable drugs to carry out death sentences, they're also paying as much as 10 times more for the chemicals as in years past. more

Why The Fuss Over Assisted Suicide Drug For Execution?

So ironic. The media is creating a bit of a fuss about a death row inmate about to be put to death using the same drug that's used for assisted suicide while at the same time generally praising its use for helping people kill themselves.

US gov rejects mercy, paving way for inmate to be 1st executed with assisted suicide drug

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Friday rejected a request for mercy from a death row inmate, paving the way for the state to become the first to execute a prisoner solely with an anesthetic used for assisted suicides and medically induced comas.

The Republican governor denied the request by Johnnie Baston, 37, who's scheduled to die Thursday for killing Chong-Hoon Mah, a South Korean immigrant who operated retail stores in Toledo. The victim's family opposes the death penalty and the execution. more

Assisted Suicide Drug To Be Used For Executions

I’m sure this will cause a stir in some circles, but I don’t think there needs to be. These drugs are very effective at killing – the innocent and the guilty alike.

Ohio to use assisted-suicide drug in executions

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio is set to become the first state to execute condemned inmates with a surgical sedative sometimes used in assisted suicides, a switch made as the shortage of the drug normally used for executions has worsened. more

Animal Drug Used For Execution: So What?

The media are trying to make something out of the fact that a murderer was executed using Phenobarbital, usually used in animal euthanasia, because the usual execution drugs were in short supply. Let’s remember that the pro-deathers often assert that we should allow assisted suicide and euthanasia because it’s as compassionate as how we euthanize animals. Also, remember that Mexico does quite a trade in selling this very same drug to people who want to die but can’t get Phenobarbital legally in their home country.

Oklahoma uses animal euthanasia drug in execution

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Oklahoma put to death a man on Thursday convicted of strangling his prison cellmate, using for the first time in a U.S. execution a drug often used to euthanize animals. more