USA - Virginia. Virginia approves Midazolam

Virginia approves Midazolam. Facing a critical shortage of drugs to carry out executions, Virginia's Department of Corrections has approved the use of a new chemical for lethal injections. Midazolam will serve as an alternative first drug in Virginia's 3-drug protocol, according to the corrections officials. It will stand in for pentobarbital or thiopental sodium, drugs that states across the country have found difficult to acquire as manufacturers have started refusing to sell their products for use in executions. That shortage prompted a failed attempt in Virginia's legislature this year to allow the use of the electric chair as a backup when lethal injection is unavailable. Midazolam is not free of controversy, however. It was 1 of the 2 drugs used in Ohio last month in an execution that took 24 minutes. The inmate's family has sued a drug company, alleging that his prolonged death amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. Records show that in the fall, Virginia corrections officials purchased several doses of both drugs used in the Ohio execution. But the 2-drug protocol is not yet authorized for use in Virginia; nor has the department announced a switch from a 3-drug method to a 2-drug one. "There are no plans to move to the 2-drug protocol used in Ohio," said Lisa E. Kinney, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections. In Virginia, where the pace of executions has declined precipitously in recent years, the drug shortage has not prevented any executions, according to corrections officials. Although the state has executed 110 inmates since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s and is 2nd only to Texas in overall executions, there are only 8 inmates on death row now, and none is scheduled for execution. 1 inmate was executed last year, and none was executed the year before. Only one state, Florida, has used midazolam as the first drug in a three-drug protocol. The first time the drug was used, it appeared that the condemned man "remained conscious longer and made more body movements after losing consciousness than other people executed recently by lethal injection under the old formula." The Florida Supreme Court has ruled the use of midazolam constitutional, finding that its use does not pose "a serious risk of needless suffering or sufficient imminent danger in violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment." After a subsequent challenge, the court ordered further hearings on the drug and again upheld its use. The inmate who filed the challenge plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Louisiana and Kentucky also have indicated that they are considering using midazolam. The state's supply of all the drugs currently authorized for use in executions, including midazolam, will expire in the spring of 2015, Kinney said.