Capital punishment is on hold for now in Nevada.
NPR member station KUNR in Reno, NV reports one of the two drugs the state uses in lethal injections has expired and the manufacturer, Pfizer, won’t provide any more.
The department is looking for an alternative, but other drug makers are following the trend of refusing to provide execution drugs.
In an interview with KUNR this month, Department of Corrections director James Dzurenda expressed doubt the department can find a new supply.
“Most of the agencies I’m talking to around the country that actually have death row cannot find these medications out here,” he says.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate if we really push to find a reproduction of these medications through manufacturing companies that weren’t tested. That may not be something we want to go through — a route like that.”
Dozens of inmates are on death row in Nevada, but no executions are scheduled right now.