LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada is turning to a never-before-tried combination of drugs for the first execution in the state in more than a decade — including the powerful opioid fentanyl and a paralyzing drug that could mask any signs of trouble.
If the state Supreme Court approves the proposed three-drug cocktail, and if it works without complications, it could offer an alternative execution method to other states seeking hard-to-obtain drugs for lethal injections.
The drugs are the sedative diazepam, commonly known as Valium; the painkiller fentanyl; and the muscle paralytic cisatracurium.
But a state court judge put a stay on the execution of Scott Raymond Dozier that had been scheduled Tuesday.
She said she was concerned the paralytic could make it impossible to tell if he experiences pain and suffering because he'd be unable to move due to the third drug.