Pharmacy That Mixed Executions Drugs Is Being Sold After Admitting Numerous Violations
A small compounding pharmacy in Oklahoma sold execution drugs for at least three Missouri executions. When investigators later inspected the pharmacy, they found “significant” problems, and it later defaulted on its bank loans.
Oklahoma Officials Told Of Execution Drug Mix-Up Months Earlier Than Previously Known
The Department of Corrections had reason to know it used the wrong drug in one execution in 2015 well before it obtained — and almost used — the same wrong drug for another execution later that same year.
Georgia Executes Man For 1996 Murder Despite Juror's Racist Statement
Kenneth Fults had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution after racist comments were made by a juror after the trial.
Georgia Executes Man For 1994 Murder
Joshua Bishop was executed for beating a man to death in an attempt to take his car keys.
Missouri Didn’t Follow Audit, Eliminated Safeguard For Execution Cash Payments
Following a critical audit of the execution payment process, rather than begin complying with a key anti-fraud rule, the Department of Corrections simply eliminated it.
Internal Emails Raise Questions About Oklahoma Corrections Head's Resignation
Within the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, emails regarding then-Director Robert Patton's resignation announcement suggest the grand jury investigation into execution mistakes could have played more of a role than officials have said publicly.
After Failed Execution Attempt, Ohio Can Try Again
Ohio spent two hours trying to insert an IV on Romell Broom in 2009 before calling off his execution. On Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court said the state can try again.
Nebraska Seeks Refund For Illegal Execution Drugs It Never Got, Supplier Refuses
The state paid $26,700 for execution drugs from a man in India without a pharmaceutical background. As BuzzFeed News reported, the drugs would be illegal to import, and stood little chance of getting in the country.
Justice Clarence Thomas Just Asked His First Question In A Decade
The conservative justice hasn't quizzed lawyers before the Supreme Court during oral arguments since February 2006.
Arizona To Death Row Inmates: You Don't Have A Right To Go Viral
Arizona inmates are asking that the state not use a paralytic in their executions so witnesses can see the pain they may feel. The state says they are trying to create a "spectacle" and have no First Amendment right to "go viral."
Georgia Executes Man For Killing Fellow Navy Sailor
Travis Hittson was put to death Wednesday evening for killing a man in 1992. It was the state's second execution this year.
Georgia Executioners Struggled To Set IVs In Recent Lethal Injections
Executioners took nearly an hour set the IVs in two recent lethal injections, according to timelines obtained by BuzzFeed News through public records requests and eyewitness accounts.
Oklahoma Governor’s Counsel Resigns In Midst Of Executions Investigation
A third official has stepped down since a grand jury began investigating mistakes in Oklahoma's executions. A spokesman said he was not aware of a connection to the investigation.
Execution Drug Supplier Won’t Say If It Alerted Financial Crimes Unit
Missouri paid a family-run pharmacy in Oklahoma more than $30,000 in cash for execution drugs. Federal law requires recipients of large amounts of cash alert a federal financial crimes unit — but the pharmacy isn’t saying whether it did.
Missouri Corrections Head Defends Cash Payments Before State Legislature
Director George Lombardi was questioned about $250,000 in cash payments to executioners — all without disclosures to the Internal Revenue Service. The practice was revealed by BuzzFeed News last week.
Arizona Enlists Major Law Firm To Import Execution Drugs From India
National law firm Alston & Bird is fighting the FDA, asking it to release execution drugs that Arizona imported from India. The state has said it will sue if the FDA doesn't do so.
Missouri Paid Executioners $250,000 In Cash, Possibly Violating Tax Law
The state pays its small team of executioners in cash to limit the paper trail. The state isn’t sending proper paperwork to the IRS — experts told BuzzFeed News that it could be contributing to tax evasion.
Alabama Executes Man Convicted Of 1992 Murder
Christopher Brooks was executed by Alabama on Thursday evening — despite three U.S. Supreme Court justices raising questions about the state's death sentencing laws.
Arizona Wants To Speed Up A Death Penalty Case Because Its Drugs Are Expiring
Arizona's supply of midazolam expires at the end of May. The state is hoping that a challenge brought by death row inmates can be wrapped up with enough time to carry out the executions.
Key George W. Bush Figure To Serve As Interim Oklahoma Corrections Head
Joe Allbaugh, a longtime Bush associate, will be the interim director of corrections for his home state. The previous director resigned in the midst of a grand jury investigation into how executions are handled in the state.