Jeffrey Landrigan executed in Arizona after lethal injection concerns

Jeffrey Landrigan executed in Arizona after lethal injection concerns

2010-10-28 02:28:39 GMT+7 (ICT)

PHOENIX, ARIZONA (BNO NEWS) -- Convicted killer Jeffrey Landrigan was executed on Tuesday night after 20 years on death row and concerns over the safety of the lethal injection, local media reported on Wednesday.

The Arizona State Prison in Florence pronounced convicted killer Jeffery Landrigan dead on Tuesday night at 10.26 p.m. local time. Landrigan was convicted in 1990 of murdering Chester Dyer of Phoenix in 1989 during a robbery. He has been on death row ever since.

Landrigan's last words made reference to the sports teams of the University of Oklahoma, the Sooners. "Well, I'd like to say thank you to my family for being here and all my friends, and Boomer Sooner," he stated.

On Monday, a federal judge in Arizona prevented Landrigan's execution, questioning the safety of one of the drugs that were to be used during the execution. Since spring, executions have been delayed and slowed because of a shortage of barbiturates, which are used for executions, and the state of Arizona had to search overseas - the United Kingdom - for the substance.

Hospira, Inc., which is the only national manufacturer of sodium thiopental (the barbiturate) that is FDA approved, suspended its production of the substance about a year ago due to supply issues, but it is scheduled to resume production next year.

A few hours prior to the lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 to lift the stay.

"There is no evidence in the record to suggest that the drug obtained from a foreign source is unsafe," the court stated. "The district court granted the restraining order because it was left to speculate as to the risk of harm. There was no showing that the drug was unlawfully obtained, nor was there an offer of proof to that effect."

Landrigan's execution marked Arizona's first since 2007.

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