Texas Department of Criminal Justice Suing FDA Over Delayed Execution Drugs

STATEWIDE — The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is suing the Food and Drug Administration over a seized shipment of execution drugs.

The FDA detained 1,000 lethal injection vials from the TDCJ almost 2 years ago, and the drugs are still in federal custody.

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Texas is arguing that the FDA needs to make a decision about them within a reasonable time, and is requesting the court declare the two-year delay unlawful.

Lethal injections are the primary means of execution in all 31 states that use the death penalty.

Supply is running low, so states have been resorting to alternatives from foreign suppliers like the shipment detained in this particular case.