Lawsuit Argues Texas To Use Expired Execution Drug
HOUSTON (AP) - Attorneys for a Texas death row inmate scheduled for execution this week contend in a federal lawsuit the sedative intended for his lethal injection is expired and its use could cause him "torturous" pain.
State lawyers argue the pentobarbital planned Wednesday evening for 45-year-old Willie Trottie is good through the end of this month and the lawsuit is merely another attempt to force the state to reveal its drug provider.
The suit was at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday after a federal judge in Houston rejected it.
Texas, like several other states, has turned to unidentified compounding pharmacies to purchase execution drugs. Courts previously have upheld the secrecy.
The death penalty has come under increased scrutiny since executions recently went awry in Oklahoma and Arizona.
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