By Leslie Acevedo & Alexis Rios-Jimenez
AUSTIN, TX – The 419th District Court of Travis County ruled this week the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is violating state laws by using expired execution drugs.
Judge Catherine A. Mauzy allowed the petition of four death row prisoners, issuing a temporary injunction that “prohibits TDCJ from injecting the prisoners with expired drugs in violation of the Texas Pharmacy Act, the Texas Controlled Substances Act, the Texas Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the Texas Penal Code,” said defense lawyers.
Shawn Nolan, an attorney for two death row prisoners, explained Judge Mauzy’s ruling sends a clear message that the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice must follow the state’s law when performing executions.
The pleading was initially filed in December by Wesley Ruiz and John Lezell Balentine, whose executions are scheduled for Feb. 1 and Feb. 8. Robert Frattna, whose execution was scheduled Jan. 10 and Arthur Brown, scheduled for execution on March 9, joined the lawsuit.
On Jan. 5, a divided Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) “[r]uled that Judge Mauzy is ordered to refrain from issuing any order purporting to stay the prisoners’ executions…Judge Mauzy stated that the State can carry out executions, but they must do so legally and not with expired drugs,” said defense lawyers.
Expired drugs meant to be used for the purposes of carrying out scheduled executions can have unreliable and uncertain effects, experts testified.
The defense team noted the compounded execution drugs “[w]ill act unpredictably, obstruct IV lines during the execution, and cause unnecessary pain.”
The petition charged that by using the expired execution drugs, the State is violating the “Texas Pharmacy Act, the Texas Controlled Substances Act, the Texas Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, and the Texas Penal Code.”
A crucial component contributing to the judge’s ruling, said the defense, is the State is not abiding by the very laws and regulations it has established regarding the handling of controlled substances.
The temporary injunction explains the State’s violations in “procuring, selecting, storing, and administering Pentobarbital mean that Defendants must comply with the Texas Pharmacy Act.”
The ruling emphasizes, said Nolan, an important element in the justice system—accountability at the highest levels.
Defense Attorney Nolan said, “The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is not above the law and Texas must follow its own law when carrying out executions.”
Dr. Michaela Amgren, Pharm.D., M.S, a pharmacology professor at the University of South Carolina School of Pharmacy, supported the declaration, arguing, “Texas ‘pentobarbital is far beyond the specified Beyond Use Date,” adding, “Texas’ alleged extension of the Beyond Use Date is based on incorrect methods resulting in invalid results.”
