USA - Nebraska. The Department of Corrections said today it has received a shipment of sodium thiopental from India

The Nebraska Department of Corrections said today it has received a shipment of sodium thiopental.The department got the supply on Jan. 7 from a pharmaceuticals company in India. A sample of the drug was tested by an independent U.S. laboratory and confirmed to be the correct drug, the department said. Corrections Director Robert Houston said that, with the drug, the department is ready to carry out an execution if called upon to do so. The Nebraska lethal injection protocol uses a 3-gram dose of sodium thiopental followed by a consciousness check one minute after administering it. If the inmate is not unconscious, another 3 grams are given. The department received 500 grams of the drug at a cost of $2,056. The drug received by the department expires in August 2012. Nebraska approved lethal injection as its method of execution in 2009. The state hasn't executed an inmate since 1997. There are 11 men on death row, but there is no set execution date at this time for any of those inmates.