Oklahoma lawmakers OK execution drugs bill

The Oklahoma Legislature has sent a measure that would strike the language specifying what kind of drugs must be used to carry out executions to Gov. Brad Henry.

By state law, the Department of Corrections must use "an ultra-short acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent" to put inmates to death.

Attorney General spokesman Charlie Price says the new language in House Bill 2266 would give the agency more flexibility to alter the execution protocol if medical procedures change or a court determines a problem exists.

Oklahoma uses sodium thiopental to render unconsciousness, vecuronium bromide to stop breathing and potassium chloride to stop the heart.

DOC Director Justin Jones said sodium thiopental is an older-generation drug and in short supply.

Source: Associated Press, June 3, 2010