USA - Nebraska. Improper paperwork thwarted an effort by Nebraska prison officials to import lethal injection drugs

Improper paperwork thwarted an effort by Nebraska prison officials to import a disputed shipment of lethal injection drugs earlier this month. Despite warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it is illegal to import foreign-made sodium thiopental, the state proceeded with plans to obtain the drug from a pharmaceutical broker in India. However, "improper or missing international paperwork" filed by the drug exporter prompted FedEx to return the shipment before it left India, Jim McCluskey, a spokesman for FedEx, said Thursday. The company sends information about all imported drugs to the FDA and U.S. Customs officials in advance of their delivery, McCluskey said. "If the shipment is authorized, we will deliver it to the recipient," he said. "If it is not, we will return it to the foreign shipper." According to FedEx tracking records, the shipment was picked up by the company Aug. 28 but returned to the exporter Sept. 4. James Foster, spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, said Thursday that state officials "will continue to work with all entities involved for the legal importation of the substances." In May, Nebraska Corrections officials paid $54,400 to purchase the sodium thiopental and another drug called pancuronium bromide from a supplier in India named Chris Harris (Harris Pharma LLP). The substances, 2 of 3 required under the state's lethal injection protocol, had expired. Gov. Pete Ricketts has said he remains confident that Nebraska will obtain the drugs, but the FDA says the sodium thiopental is no longer approved for use in the United States. The domestic manufacturer of the anesthetic stopped making it several years ago under pressure from death penalty opponents. The FDA's position that the drug will not be allowed delivery to Nebraska or any other state remains unchanged, Jeff Ventura, the agency's spokesman, said in an email Thursday. In support of its ban on the importation of the drug, the FDA has referred to a 2013 federal appeals court ruling in Washington, D.C.. Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has hinted that the state may legally challenge the FDA's blockade of the drug. Nebraska was not a party to the case that led to the appeals court decision, and Peterson has said the FDA has staked out a position that goes beyond what the court required.