Nebraska's death chamber and adjacent room where drugs will be administered.
The Arizona Republic reports two of three medications used to carry out executions aren't readily available. They are thiopental sodium (better known as sodium pentothal) administered to put the condemned to sleep, and pancuronium bromide, the drug that paralyzes the body. (The third drug is potassium chloride, the poison that stops the heart.) Hospira produces the two necessary medications: the company says there's been excessive demand for pancuronium and trouble with manufacturing for thiopental. Arizona has no scheduled executions, although 133 prisoners are on death row.
Ohio now uses only thiopental sodium to execute prisoners and the state had trouble locating enough of the drug to put prisoner Michael Beuke to death in May. Ohio Corrections officials procured the required amount.
Nebraska Corrections officials have also noticed, according to the Sioux City Journal. Nebraska just changed its death chamber from an electric chair to one that can administer a lethal injection; reporters were permitted to view it yesterday. No executions are scheduled in Nebraska, although 12 people are on death row.
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