USA - North Carolina. The House passed House Bill 774 aimed at resuming executions

The House passed House Bill 774 aimed at resuming executions in the state after a nine-year break by removing the requirement that a doctor be present at all lethal injections. The bill now goes to Gov. Pat McCrory. HB 774, which passed the Senate earlier this week (July 27) and cleared the House a final time on a 74-34 vote, would also shield the makers of drugs used in executions and the specific protocols for carrying out the sentence from public view. North Carolina has not executed an inmate since 2006. Legal challenges over the death penalty have dealt with whether doctors are required to participate in executions, how the execution protocol was approved and, under the since-repealed Racial Justice Act, whether sentencing in some cases was tainted by racial bias.