Federal prisons run out of key execution drug

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the federal prisons department has run out of a key execution drug and is exploring alternatives, dashing states’ hopes of obtaining a federal supply of the drug.

Holder says the lack of sodium thiopental is a serious concern that the government is analyzing.

Holder wrote a March 4 letter to states that was obtained by The Associated Press. In it, he says that federal officials are looking at options, including changes to federal execution procedures.

The immediate impact of the federal shortage is minimal. A lawsuit is challenging the federal government’s injection procedures, and the U.S. government has not executed anyone since 2003.

States are scrambling to find a source of sodium thiopental because the company that manufactures it is stopping production.