Pharmacy Owner Having Second Thoughts About Being Texas' Only Supplier of Execution Drug

By Eric Nicholson Tue., Oct. 8 2013 at 11:27 AM

CACorrections

Death row inmate Michael Yowell's last-minute, Hail Mary lawsuit, based on the claim that the state was going to experiment on him with untested execution drugs, failed to sway U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes. In an order handed down Saturday, he dismissed that as "a guess piled on an assumption" and ruled that the custom-mixed dose of pentobarbital would be just as ruthlessly lethal as the stuff pharmaceutical companies had stopped supplying for executions.

And, just so we're clear, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has plenty of the drug. It ordered enough pentobarbital from a Texas compounding pharmacy "to carry out all currently scheduled executions" in the words of TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark.

Clark didn't name the pharmacy, but the Associated Press did. The wire service reported that the state had ordered eight 2.5-gram vials of pentobarbital from The Woodlands Compounding Pharmacy outside of Houston.

Pharmacy owner Dr. Jasper Lovoi, who quickly realized why drug makers are so hesitant to supply execution drugs, was livid.

"[I]t was my belief that this information would be kept on the 'down low,'" he wrote, "and that it was unlikely that it would be discovered that my pharmacy provided these drugs." Despite repeated assurances of secrecy from the state, "I find myself in the middle of a firestorm I was not advised of and did not bargain for."

Long story short, Lovoi is having seller's remorse and wants TDCJ to return the pentobartbital he sold it.

"I, and my staff, are very busy operating our pharmacy, and do not have the time to deal with the constant inquiries from the press, the hate mail and messages...Please contact me immediately to arrange for the return of the drugs."

Lovoi would have been wise to consider those consequences beforehand, since there's no way in hell Texas is letting go of an execution drug that's become increasingly scarce as suppliers recognize that providing drugs for the express purpose of killing people is bad PR.

The TDCJ said as much to the Texas Tribune.

'The drugs were purchased legally by the agency," spokesman Jason Clark said. "TDCJ has no intention of returning the pentobarbital."

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bvckvs topcommenter

His secret is out. He's a significant part of the Republicans' culture of death - and nothing he can do will ever change that.

Whenever any of his relatives, fellow church members, customers or descendants do any research on him, he won't be able to hide behind anonymity - pretending to be a better man than he is.

whocareswhatithink

He is only having sellers remorse because people now know who the pharmacy is...he is not having sellers remorse for supplying the drug

scottindallas topcommenter

if you support the death penalty, you should indicate which five persons in jail for life should be thrown on the streets, for you broadway production. I know many GOP'ers are closeted cocksuckers, but entertaining their love of Justice theatre is expensive. It costs 5-7 times more to pursue death penalty cases as it does to incarcerate for life. Why are we engaging in such profligacy just to put on a show

ogenjr

Change over to Clorox bleach

ozonelarryb

They could use Perry debate answers, but that would constitute torture.

crimjunkie

Editor alert: Judge Lynn Hughes is a dude. Google him.

TheCredibleHulk topcommenter

@whocareswhatithink

I can't imagine that somebody that works with these substances regularly could be so ignorant of the fact that activists and journo's were going to find out who sourced the drug TX. was going to use to execute prisoners.