Louisiana Delays Execution Because Of Lethal Drug Combo
The state was told to delay an execution for 90 days because of a problem with a lethal drug cocktail that caused an Ohio prisoner to writhe in agony for almost a half hour.
Christopher Sepulvado had been scheduled to die on Wednesday at a Louisiana prison using a combination of the sedative midazolam and pain killer hydromorphone if the regularly listed drug pentobarbital was unavailable.
U.S. District Court Judge James Brady ordered the execution delayed at least until May 4 and set a trial to begin April 7 on a defense challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s execution methods.
“The stay will allow additional time for review and responses to outstanding issues related to the execution,” Louisiana’s corrections department said in a statement.
