Nevada's prisons director says a supplier's error led to the state’s acquisition of drugs for an upcoming execution.
State corrections department chief James Dzurenda said the error wasn't the state's fault, and so he felt no obligation to meet manufacturer demands to return the drugs.
In a state court hearing Tuesday, Dzurenda acknowledged he received pharmaceutical firms' letters prohibiting their products from being used for executions.
He said he filed the letters away without sharing them with other state officials at a time when officials were trying to find ways to obtain drugs for Nevada's first execution in 12 years.
The court hearing is part of an effort by three pharmaceutical companies to show Nevada improperly obtained their products for an execution.
State attorneys say the drugs were obtained not because of subterfuge, but because the companies lacked their own distribution controls.