15 August 2018 :

Judge Rejects Drugmaker's Attempt to Block Nebraska Execution. Federal judge Richard G. Kopf of the District of Nebraska on Friday refused to block the State of Nebraska from carrying out its 1st lethal injection despite a German pharmaceutical company's lawsuit that says the state illicitly obtained its drugs. The judge denied the company's request to temporarily block state prison officials from executing Carey Dean Moore, who is scheduled to die Tuesday in Nebraska's 1st execution since 1997 with a combination of drugs that has never been tried. Moore, 60, who was convicted of killing 2 cabdrivers 5 days apart in 1979, has stopped fighting the state's efforts to execute him. Judge Kopf said granting the drug company's request would "frustrate the will of the people," referring to the 61 % of Nebraska voters who chose to reinstate capital punishment in 2016 after lawmakers abolished it. "I will not allow the plaintiff to frustrate the wishes of Mr. Moore and the laws of the state of Nebraska," Judge Kopf said during the hearing. Lawyers for the drug company, Fresenius Kabi, filed a lawsuit this week arguing that state officials improperly obtained at least 1 of the company's drugs. Mark Christensen, 1 of the lawyers, said the company planned to appeal. Mr. Moore is scheduled to be executed with a combination of 4 drugs: the sedative diazepam, commonly known as Valium, to render him unconscious; fentanyl citrate, a powerful synthetic opioid; cisatracurium besylate to induce paralysis and halt his breathing; and potassium chloride to stop his heart. Fresenius Kabi argues that it manufactured the state's supply of potassium chloride and possibly the cisatracurium. Nebraska state officials have refused to identify the source of their execution drugs. Fresenius Kabi said Nebraska's use of its drugs would damage its reputation and business relationships. The company said it takes no position on capital punishment, but strongly opposes the use of its products for use in executions.