LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas attorney general's office is warning legislators not to explore alternative execution methods after the state's lethal injection protocol and execution secrecy law were found constitutional by Arkansas' high court.
The House Judiciary Committee considered Monday whether to approve a study on hypoxia— replacing the oxygen in a person's lungs with an inert gas like nitrogen— as a back-up method for executions. But the committee decided not to vote after a representative from the attorney general's office advised members to "let sleeping dogs lie."
Cory Cox, the attorney general's legislative director, says the office doesn't understand looking for alternatives after the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the execution secrecy law and three-drug protocol in June.
Supporters say drug supplies are drying up and new methods should be looked at.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.