BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A proposal to let the state corrections department hide information about the source of its execution drugs and buy them from compounding pharmacies outside Louisiana is nearing final passage.
The Senate voted 29-7 Friday to back the proposal by Republican Rep. Joe Lopinto.
Lopinto says the changes would help Louisiana carry out the death penalty. States are experiencing shortages of lethal injection drugs because pharmacies stopped selling them for fear of attracting public condemnation.
Critics say keeping the execution information secret would make it impossible to determine if the deaths violate a prisoner’s protection from cruel and unusual punishment. They also say purchasing drugs from less regulated compound pharmacies is dangerous.
Lopinto’s bill returns to the House for final consideration.
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House Bill 328 can be found at www.legis.la.gov
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