Arizona has executed a death row inmate after an unnamed British company supplied one of the chemicals used in lethal injections, it has been revealed.
Jeffrey Landrigan, 50, who was convicted of the murder of Chester Dean Dyer in 1989, had been granted a stay of execution over concerns about the legality of the substances used to kill him.
His lawyers had argued that the drug – sodium thiopental – might not meet U.S. standards and his planned execution violated his constitutional rights to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
But it was cleared to proceed after Supreme Court justices voted 5-4 in favour of overturning the federal judge’s order postponing the execution.
Arizona officials said the sodium thiopental came from Britain, the first time a state has acknowledged obtaining the drug from outside the US since the shortage began slowing executions in the spring.
The sentence was carried out at 6.26am this morning.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Jeffrey Landrigan
news.com
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