USA - Arkansas. Drug supplier sold execution chemicals improperly expecting secrecy.

Lawyer for Arkansas says drug supplier sold execution chemicals improperly while expecting secrecy. Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Merritt says the company that sold Arkansas execution drugs had contracts with manufacturers prohibiting the chemicals from being sold for use in death penalty cases, but made a deal anyway because a new state law ensured it would remain anonymous. Merritt later told Pulaski County judge Wendell Griffen during the same hearing Tuesday that she didn't know what was in the contracts between the drug supplier and drug manufacturers. Judge Griffen objected, saying state lawyers in earlier pleadings argued that disclosing the supplier would create an undue burden by forcing the company to acknowledge it violated contracts. The Associated Press identified the three probable drug manufacturers last month, and all said they had supply chain protections to prevent their drugs from being sold to prisons.