A Texas judge prohibited the state from using expired drugs in executions, hours before...
Judge Catherine Mauzy in the 419th District Court issued a temporary injunction that prohibits Texas Department of Criminal Justice from injecting the prisoners with expired drugs in violation of several state laws regulating pharmaceuticals, including the Texas Penal Code. The ruling came after a three-hour hearing Tuesday, prompting the state attorney general's office to fight the decision in higher courts.
Alex Kursman, lawyer for the plaintiffs, said although the drugs may be labeled pentobarbital, the fact that they might be “hundreds or thousands of days past their expiration date,” means they might not have the intended pharmacological effect. “What the petitioners have described has never happened,” O’Leary said. “The petitioners' own evidence shows that it was retested as recently as January 2022. It’s proven to be potent and effective.”
The last time the TDCJ received new 100-milliliter vials of pentobarbital was in April 2019, meaning it expired in June 2019 since the drug lasts about 45 days when frozen, according to the United State Pharmacopeia. The decision in Austin set off a chain reaction in the legal system. After the decision came down, Fratta’s attorneys filed a motion in Harris County’s 230th District Court to withdraw his execution date because of the injunction.
Prosecutors opposed the motion, saying that Morton only had limited ability under Texas law to withdraw an execution date and that the civil appeal that led to the injunction had itself violated another court’s orders and legal precedent.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lawsuit challenges use of old lethal injection drugs as Texas prepares to execute Robert FrattaFratta was convicted in the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife. Lawyers are challenging Texas’ routine of extending the expiration dates of its lethal drugs, a practice begun when many pharmacies began refusing to provide doses for executions.
Read more »
Lawsuit challenges use of old lethal injection drugs as Texas prepares to execute Robert FrattaFratta was convicted in the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife. Lawyers are challenging Texas’ routine of extending the expiration dates of its lethal drugs, a practice begun when many pharmacies began refusing to provide doses for executions.
Read more »
Robert Fratta execution in limbo after judge rules Texas can't use expired drugsWhether or not the execution of Robert Fratta would happen Tuesday came into question after a federal judge ruled an expired drug used to execute death row inmates violated state laws.
Read more »
Robert Fratta, former Houston-area police officer convicted in murder-for-hire plot, to be executedRobert Fratta, a former Missouri City police officer convicted in the 1994 death of his...
Read more »
Robert Fratta case update: Supreme Court denies to grant stay of executionThe Supreme Court declines to grant a stay of execution to Robert Fratta, who is scheduled to be executed in Texas on Tuesday.
Read more »
Execution of Robert Fratta proceeding after higher court overrules judge's injunctionHours before Texas planned to execute Robert Fratta on Tuesday evening for the death of his estranged wife, a Travis County judge barred prison officials from conducting executions with drugs long past their original expiration date.
Read more »