LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The legislator who drafted the law that keeps most of Arkansas' lethal injection policy a secret says pharmaceutical companies have no standing to complain that prison officials will use their drugs in executions.
The Associated Press reported Monday that it appears Arkansas obtained a paralytic drug made by a subsidiary of Pfizer for use in executions. Pfizer has said it doesn't want its drugs used that way and that it has safeguards in place to prevent it from happening.
State Rep. Doug House said Tuesday that Arkansas had obtained the vecuronium bromide legally, "fair and square." He says Pfizer's only complaint could be with a third-party vendor that sold the drug to the state, not with the state itself.
Arkansas legislators last year passed the secrecy law, saying firms wouldn't sell execution drugs to the state for fear that disclosure could lead to protests or boycotts.