South Carolina Inmate Decries Insufficient Data on Lethal Injection Drug
Inmate Awaits Execution with Unanswered Queries
In a controversial turn of events, lawyers for Freddie Owens, an inmate on death row in South Carolina, have expressed concern over the lack of information provided by state prison officials about the lethal injection drug to be used in his execution scheduled for later this month. This lack of transparency, they argue, means the defendant cannot make an informed decision about his preferred method of execution.
Owens’ attorneys are particularly interested in gaining access to the detailed report from state scientists who tested the drug pentobarbital. The document provided by the prison authorities thus far is a mere summary stating its stability, purity, and potency, based on similar protocols employed in other jurisdictions.
State Legal Shield Impedes Disclosure
State representatives counter that a shield law passed in 2023 prevents them from revealing further details about the drug, as this could potentially identify the compounding pharmacy that produced it. South Carolina has struggled since 2011 to execute an inmate due to difficulty in acquiring the required drugs from companies that fear public identification.
The crux of the debate revolves around the question of how much information is justified for release to a person sentenced to death. It stands as one of many legal issues currently pendulous before the South Carolina Supreme Court as Owens’ execution date of September 20 approaches.
Owens’ Crime and Sentence
Owens was sentenced to death for the 1997 shooting of a Greenville convenience store clerk during a robbery. His lawyers have recently filed a petition asking for a stay, alleging that Owens’ co-defendant lied about not having a plea agreement and potentially facing the death penalty in return for his testimony.
Demand for More Transparency
Owens’ lawyers argue that the decision to die by lethal injection, electrocution, or the newly introduced firing squad can’t be a fair one without the provision of more data regarding the lethal injection drug pentobarbital, which falls under the state’s new one-drug protocol. They have requested the full report from the State Law Enforcement Division laboratory that tested the drug, offering to have the technicians’ names redacted under the shield law.
In support of this argument, a statement from a University of South Carolina pharmacy professor has been presented, stating that the details currently provided do not sufficiently confirm if the drug is pure, stable, and potent enough to conduct the execution.
Unveiling the Implications
The professor, Dr. Michaela Almgren, has in a sworn statement clarified the implications of the insufficient details. The lack of a definite testing date and the “beyond use date” for the drug, according to her, are critical. An unstable drug could cause intense pain during administration, damage blood vessels, or fail at inducing death. She further mentioned that the state has not provided information on how the drug would be stored, a factor crucial in determining the effects of the injectable, which is sensitive to temperature, light, and moisture conditions.
