[JURIST] Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna filed a motion with the state Supreme Court Tuesday announcing the adoption of a single-drug execution method. The state had previously used a three-drug cocktail to lethally inject those sentenced to be executed. The change comes as three death row inmates are challenging Washington’s previous execution method that included the use of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride. The single-drug system will involve only the sodium thiopental. The state Supreme Court previously issued a stay on the executions to allow more time to review the system. The Washington Department of Corrections is currently rewriting the state’s execution policy Individuals sentenced to death can still choose the three-drug method or can choose to be hanged.
Washington is the second state to make the move to a single-drug execution protocol. Ohio conducted the first single-drug execution in December after the US Supreme Court rejected a last-minute stay application. Ohio became the first state to adopt the single-drug protocol in November. The state undertook a review of its lethal injection practices in September after the planed execution of inmate Romell Broom failed when a suitable vein for the drugs’ administration could not be found. The new protocol consists of the intravenous injection of a single anesthetic, and provides for the intramuscular injection of two other drugs if an appropriate vein cannot be found.