USA - Florida. Florida tomorrow is planning to use a lethal injection drug that has never been used before in executions: Versed

The Florida Department of Corrections on Tuesday is planning to use a lethal injection drug that has never been used before in executions. The drug, midazolam hydrochloride, which is commercially known as Versed, would be used for the first time in the scheduled execution of William Happ, 50, who has been on death row for 27 years for killing and raping 21-year-old Angie Crowley on May 24, 1986. A spokeswoman from the department of corrections said it has limited supplies of the drug it had been using -- pentobarbital sodium -- so it switched to Versed. There is a shortage of the drug nationwide since its maker, Danish company Lundbeck, stopped shipping the drug to prisons where executions take place. Some states, such as Texas, are getting pentobarbital from compound pharmacies. But no states apart from Florida have switched to Versed, which is normally used as a sedative before surgery and has never been used in an execution. "These drugs weren't made to kill people... they were made with another purpose in mind. It's unknown how they're going to work," said Deborah Denno, a law professor at Fordham University in New York who has studied lethal injection procedures in the U.S. Denno added that the drug is a backup in Ohio, "but it's very controversial because no one knows how it's going to work." The Department of Corrections said it has several pending motions challenging the switch to Versed but none filed for Happ. Happ's attorney, Eric Pinkard, could not be reached for comment. Versed is the 1st of 3 drugs that will be administered. The other 2 are vecuronium bromide, which causes paralysis, and potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest.