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Subscribe to RSSThe manufacturer of the anesthetic blamed for Michael Jackson's death said Thursday it won't sell the drug for use in executions, a setback for Missouri and other states looking for an alternative after other drug makers also objected to their products' use in lethal injections.
Drug maker Fresenius Kabi USA, a German company with U.S. offices based in Schaumburg, Ill., says it is the only remaining domestic supplier of propofol. Earlier this year, Missouri adopted a new single-drug execution method that would make it the first state to use propofol as an execution drug.
Fresenius Kabi spokesman Matt Kuhn confirmed to The Associated Press that the company told its distributors in late August that such usage contradicts the drug's medical purpose and is "inconsistent" with the company's mission. It's also forbidden under European Union laws to export drugs that could be used in executions.
"Fresenius Kabi objects to the use of its products in any manner that is not in full accordance with the medical indications for which they have been approved by health authorities," a company statement reads. "Consequently, the company does not accept orders for propofol from any departments of correction in the United States. Nor will it do so."
Most of the 33 states with the death penalty had long used sodium thiopental as the first of a three-drug combination administered during lethal injections. But sodium thiopental became unavailable when its European supplier acknowledged pressure from death penalty opponents and stopped selling it for executions.
Supplies mostly ran out or expired, forcing states to consider alternatives. Most states have retained the three-drug method but turned to pentobarbital, a barbiturate used to treat anxiety and convulsive disorders such as epilepsy, as a replacement for sodium thiopental. But pentobarbital supplies also have shrunk after its manufacturer said it would try to prevent its use in executions.
Officials with the Missouri Attorney General's office and Department of Corrections didn't immediately respond Thursday to requests seeking comment about the propofol maker's stance. In August, the state Supreme Court declined Attorney General Chris Koster's request to set execution dates for six death-row inmates, calling it "premature" pending the uncertainty over propofol's availability.
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Does it work? Well it killed one child molester I know of.
Propofol works in about 10-12 seconds and your out, the company just doesn't want the publicity associated with executions. Lead is cheaper and faster.
I'm a veterinarian and use propofol every day.
It's actually fairly safe.
A bullet to the back of the head is painless and quick and the arms manufactures will not say a thing about the good advertising!
well if europeans want to dictate to us how we administer OUR laws, then I guess they will have no problem when we go back to frying'em. either way 1 less dirtbag in the world. europe its your choice lets us do it humanely or we can go back to hangings, shootings and electrocution. we certainly won't stop doing what we believe is right - you can let all your serial killers out after 20 years, we like ours 6 feet under.
I am an American citizen and I do not authorize you to speak for me when you say "we" certainly won't stop doing what "we" believe is right. I hope we DO stop doing it (the death penalty) and I don't believe it (executing humans) is right or just or moral.
Bookweight... You are likely a better Christian than I; however, when you have criminals like Anders Behring Brevik who murder 77 people and are sentenced to ONLY 21 years in prison, I would have to say that executing humans (which may not be right, just or moral) is still the better option.
With an name like Fresenius Kabi I'm not sure that I would use one of thier products for anything other than putting perps to bed. Then, I can think of other less expensive solutions to the problem anyway.
Bullets could still do the job, so could guillotines.
Don't forget drawing and quartering.
Drano.
Bring back "SPARKY"!
I applaud a company that sticks to its mission.
On another note, perhaps this is a good time to consider doing away with the death penalty. Not that many criminals do not deserve it, but it is much cheaper than putting a man away for life(which is unlikely to be overly long in prison anyway)
Death is also the easy way out for people who slaughtered (and often tortured) their victims in heinous and unspeakable ways. I'd rather they be left to rot in their little 8' by 6' cells for the rest of their lives. That mental torture is a hell of a lot more appropriate than being put to sleep, IMO.
So what are they going to do if Missouri decides to use it anyway? I don't think they have grounds to go to court. Maybe they can refuse selling to the government??
"Fresenius Kabi objects to the use of its products in any manner that is not in full accordance with the medical indications for which they have been approved by health authorities," a company statement reads. "Consequently, the company does not accept orders for propofol from any departments of correction in the United States. Nor will it do so."
Doctors may legally use a drug for purposes beyond its indications, but they face risks if they do. A doctor or other licensed medical personnel might refuse to assist in an execution if asked to use a drug for unapproved purpose.
Thought they already restricted sales to flake MD's for use on child molesters?
Barry - I don't think physicians can perform executions because it violates the Hippocratic Oath.
Megidolaon- there is always a doctor present for an execution- it's law. Someone has to be there because no one can administer medications without a doctors order.
Hate the sugar-coating. I don't know what other drugs this company makes, but I'm sure they profit hansomly and have no problems taking the profits for any and all off-label use that doctors have come up with over the years. They object to the drug being used for execution. I get that. Then state that and that alone and leave it be. Too much PC in this world.
Not wanting to be a party to state-sanctioned murder is now PC?
Is in it ironic that Germany, the country that brought up massive killings in torture chambers, human experimentation courtesy of Dr, Menguele and so on, have a company that declined to sell the product to exterminate vermin? Hey!! they should endorse it and use it as a slogan!! "Propofol takes care of them! faster, quieter, like a ride on the autobahn, we know death!!"
"God has spoken"
I guess the best choice is for you to not comment if you have nothing logical to contribute.
Given your argument that a country that has a historical past should be labeled as such based on that past, I surmise that you would believe that America (a country that I dearly love), based on historical past is full of racists, fanatics, slave owners, and murdering revolutionaries and that any sort of suggestion of freedom for all is simply ironic.
The point is we all have skeletons and live in glass houses. I would not assume anything about a country based on the historical past of its leaders especially those whom the citizens themselves have deemed atrocious.
"faster, quieter, like a ride on the autobahn, we know death!!" HA! 4 out of 5 SS officers reccommend it.
sleggy, get a life. Internet comments don't need to be taken that seriously. Plus, having lived in Germany, I can tell you they do believe the USA is full of racists. I'd always reply to such stereotypes by reminding them that they're a bunch of Nazis!
How about we all admit that the death penalty in unbelievably barbaric and move on from this practice. Let's grow up as a nation and move forward. We're better than this.
What's your solution?
Oh! I know! Counsel them, and rehabilitate them, or keep feeding, clothing, sheltering and medicating them at our expense for as long as they live.
Sure - we'll let the people like you foot the bill for the barbaric murderers, etc.
For those who believe the death penalty is barbaric, please explain to me what purpose it serves to keep serial killers, mass murderers, serial child molesters, etc. in prison for 30 or 40 years or more. These individuals are NOTHING but a drain on the tax-payers.
You say that the death penalty is barbaric because "we're better than this" as a nation and society. Well, if we're better than the death penalty, then why do we have people like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ed Gein, Ted Bundy, etc? Obviously, we still aren't advanced enough as a race or society to have weeded out these kinds of people.
Considering the way these sickos tortured and killed their victims, we have already shown that as a society we are above them as we have given them a 'peaceful' termination. We use drugs which block pain before the heart stops. We've quit using the firing squads, guillotines, nooses, etc; those are barbaric.
No, the death penalty will never be used as a deterant to crime. If someone wants to kill, they can and will because they have no concern with the consequences of their actions. The death penalty needs to be used to remove such individuals from society. As serial killers, etc, they have proven that they are not worthy to remain among us.
It's most expensive to kill them than to keep them alive in jail. Easy research if you don't believe me. We isolate inmates on death row for years then spend huge amounts of money on the legal process of execution. Just sayin
If I have a choice between footing the bill for a death penalty case or for sending someone to prison for life, I'll pay the lifer's bill. It'll be much, much cheaper. Death penalty cases can cost millions of dollars, and the prisoners often spend decades behind bars before an execution is carried out.
Less than half as much in many states. Shellie is right.
Like Shellie and Barry have said, it costs much more to execute someone (thanks to the lengthy appeals process) than it does to imprison them for life. And think about it - what punishes a heinous killer more? Getting a stick in their arm and going to sleep, or being left to rot in a tiny, filthy cell for the rest of their lives? I know I'd rather die than spend the next 40-50 years in prison.
I'm opposed to the death penalty for a lot of reasons, but the big two are the high cost to taxpayers, and my belief that it's an easy way out.
Unfortunately, we you lock up criminals for life, they have no incentive to act as civilized human beings. How many correction officers have paid the ultimate price at the hands of these individuals that are locked away for life. Between escape attempts and prison riots, how many people are injured or murdered just so we can keep these people locked up.
Really? You would not be so quick to say that if you were the victim of one of these animals. Why should we support them for the rest of their lives with cable tv, 3 meals a day and educational benefits? Hang them and dump them. Do it right after their one and only appeal.
When was the last time you saw a criminal escape from a cemetery?
Bring back firing squads. can even automate them with robotic shooters and laser sights. problem solved.
guillotines can be considered cruel sinced it has been proven the head stays alive 14-15 seconds after being detatched. can you imagine the pain and horror. bulets in the head much kinder
Last time I checked carbon monoxide was cheap and readily available.
Hanging worked great and the cost of rope is still low.
I was about to post that but you beat me to it. I do believe there are too many on death row but certainly there are some who dam* well deserve it. The others, lock em up throw away the key. Bread and water for dinner and no tv's in their cells. They should just read the bible the rest of their lives. Our criminal justice system is too quick to throw people in prison as much as they do .However, violent criminals are animals if you ask me . Feed em dog food. Sandusky and others like him, dog food is too good for them. Anyone got any ideas about what they should be fed?
One way ticket to germany. They should not send them back since they won't extradite someone who just "might" get convicted. Bet they change their mind when a plane with 300 murders lands.
Every day pounds of heroin are confiscated during arrests. Why not use what you already have? It wouldn't cost anything, we know it works. Should be a painless death, and we don't have to worry about how to get rid of it anymore. Sounds like a winner on both ends.
Actually, I like that idea.
I have a very cheap alternative: air.
Simply fill a large syringe with this abundant, low-cost compound, and inject.
Now I can certainly understand and even appreciate the protections of the Constitution against Cruel and Unusual punishment - this was necessary to put an end to the horrors of the GOP Witch Trials. No more Pear of Anguish, no more Iron Maiden, no more Rack and Thumbscrews to obtain confessions.
However...
When the guilty are condemned to die, and very, very few ever welcome death, and especially for those whose crimes merit execution, then I suspend my sympathy and extend it to their victims and/or their families.
Personally, I feel the death penalty should be agonizing, even if it lasts only a few (what, about 6 minutes for a severed head to die), minutes. Those few minutes are the justice and retribution the victims and/or their families deserve.
Certainly, if I were a victim or family, I would feel nothing from watching some PoS lie on a gurney and go to sleep. Let me hear the scum cry out in true agony, then I'll feel justice has been served.
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I've always been a proponent of instituting decapitation by hydrolic device as a unified form of execution. With enough PSI behind it, there is no chance of not cutting through the first time, and there could never be an "I'm to fat to be executed" challenge issued.
There would be virtually no chance to botch the execution either - simply place the condemned's head into the restraint, place a bag over the head, and wait for it.... wait for it... -snip-
The body twitches a few times and perishes. The brain dies 6 minutes later.
Six minutes of potential hell would buy families and victims lifetimes of relief.
And best of all - it might just make the death penalty a deterrent again, especially if we outright lied to the general public and told them this was the most torturous, painful way to die, and that the last thing the condemned see is their own headless bodies flailing about and everyone points and laughs at their headless bodies.
See, in the way back, execution worked as a deterrent, because the Headsman's Axe didn't always cleave through on the first stroke, the Sword, which usually did, was reserved for nobles and VIPs, and the good old Guillotine had a habit of either not being sharp enough or falling far enough to make a clean cut the first time - and these were open to the public.
Max 13 seconds of brain life after decapitation. Definitely not 6 minutes.
Lifespan of severed head not subject of discussion, however... your position enforces the humanity of my proposed method of execution. Electrocution is typically a 20 second charge followed by another 15 second charge. Lethal injection typically 15-30 minutes for the entire process. Gas chamber, 3-5 minutes after the condemned stops holding their breath. Hanging... if everything goes right, only a few seconds. If not, several minutes. And finally, firing squad, again, if everything goes right, only seconds.
I stand by hydrolic decapitation as the most effective and humane means of execution, with no possibility of arguing one's way out because of weight concerns... chubby, your head will come off just as fast as anyone else's.
Certainly sounds like a very effective means. I always found the story of Edison's invention of the electric chair interesting. He basically did it to encourage sales of his DC electricity over Westinhouse/ Tesla's more efficient but much more dangerous AC. He had a travelling show that killed dogs and cats and even an elephant with AC power to scare people off. Classy.
Clorox should do the job.....
Draino.
Its about time that pharm. companies stop or prevent the use of their products to kill people. Executions in the US dont have a place in the 21st. cent.
Are you willing to pay their room and board or maybe just have them come live with you?
They have a perfectly valid place in the 21 century.
Bravo Fresenius Kabi!
It bafffles me why we insist on a "humane" execution for people that were brutal and inhumane in their acts.
Because we're supposed to be seeking justice, not vengeance.
Justice requires a pleasant execution? My, how liberal.
I honestly waffle on my opinion of the death penalty. I think there are definitely some people who deserve to die for their crimes, who can never possibly be rehabilitated, and who are only going to be a drain on society for the rest of their lives while they are housed in prison. That being said, until we get a better justice system in this country - one that can guarantee equal representation for all and fair sentencing guidelines regardless of your race or economic status - the death penalty should be abolished. There are too many cases of innocent people being sentenced to death, or people who commit the same (or very similar crimes) getting wildly differing sentences because one could afford a better attorney than the other. Or because one was black and the other white.
All of that aside, this company is well within its rights to say that their drug (created, produced, and intended for medicinal purposes) is not going to be sold to people or organizations that intend to use it to kill people. For whatever reasons.
The justice system in this country is largely broken, and maybe if more companies take a stand law makers will be forced to take a look at the situation and make some changes that can benefit everyone. I don't claim to know of a perfect solution to the issue, but chances do need to be made to protect every citizen. I certainly wouldn't want to be executed based on my inability to hire expensive counsel...
My recollection is that there is a serious propofol shortage going on right now. Any redirection of this drug for other purposes would potentially hurt people needing it for surgery.
I had some Propofol a few months ago for surgery and this stuff is the real deal. You will fall asleep and won't even know that you fell asleep until they wake you wake up in recovery. All I remember them telling me is that they were giving me some milky white stuff that would make me sleepy. I guess I lost consciousness thereafter?? LOL I've had thiopental sodium before and you feel yourself falling asleep with that stuff. With propofol, there was no warning at all. Just lights out all of a sudden. Dangerous drug....
Bring back Ol' Sparky and the noose.
This pharmaceutical company should be able to just check back with headquarters in Germany on the least expensive way to quickly kill large quantities of people. Reasonably sure they do have some extensive notes on the subject.