APNewsBreak: Drug maker asks Ohio, Oklahoma not to use sedative for putting inmates to death

[Akoto]

Source: Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The sole U.S. manufacturer of a sedative that Ohio plans to use to execute death row inmates - and that Oklahoma already uses to do so - said Wednesday it opposes the practice and has asked both states to stop using the drug.

Pentobarbital maker Lundbeck Inc. says it never intended for the drug to be used to put inmates to death.

"This goes against everything we're in business to do," Sally Benjamin Young, spokeswoman for the Denmark-based company's U.S. headquarters in Deerfield, Ill., told The Associated Press.

"We like to develop and make available therapies that improve people's lives," she said. "That's the focus of our business."

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EXECUTION_DRUG_SHORTAGE?SITE=PAREA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[gateley]

1. Good. Executions have no place in a civilized (not to mention "Christian") nation. nt

[rucky]

2. "...ask your warden about Pentobarbital"

[jberryhill]

4. "...if your execution lasts longer than four hours, call your Governor"

[liberaltrucker]

3. Five grams of pentobarbital

You go to eternal sleep. A far less dose
of barbiturates killed Marilyn Monroe.

If we must have capital punishment, this
really isn't inhumane.

Edit: I'm against the death penalty.
If I were convicted, I'd prefer heroin.

[AsahinaKimi]

5. Wouldn't it be something if they

Refused to sell the drug to Ohio and Oklahoma any more..

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. Unfortunately they can't

Its generic and in widespread general use for both humans and animals. Once it goes into the distribution system the manufacturer loses track of it.

If we are to have capital punishment, its a decent choice.

[DesertDiamond]

6. Wow. A big pharma corporation does something ethical? Wow. Just wow.

[naaman fletcher]

8. nothing really ethical about it

The end profit derived from the tiny amount of this drug used in executions is far less than the cost of answering hate mail from anti-death penalty activists. It's a business decision, as with everything.

[jberryhill]

9. They are positioning themselves to avoid a product liability suit

Sometimes the nitwit executioners screw up and these things go poorly.

The company is making this move to be absolutely clear their product is not intended for this use.