A US court indefinitely suspended the execution of a murder convict after a pharmaceutical company issued an appeal against its product being used as part of the lethal injection.
Scott Dozier, 47, convicted of two murders in 2001 and 2007, gave up his appeals and asked to be executed, reports Efe news.
The state of Nevada scheduled Dozier's execution for Wednesday, when a lethal injection would be administered with a three-drug combination, one of which is a sedative produced by Alvogen, Midazolam.
The pharmaceutical company filed an appeal on Tuesday against the use of its products in the execution process, alleging that the drugs were illegitimately obtained after Alvogen refused to provide it for lethal injection.
According to Alvogen, the Nevada Department of Corrections ordered Midazolam through a pharmacy in Las Vegas to avoid the company's opposition.
Over the last decade, various American pharmaceutical companies have opposed the use of their products in lethal injections, causing a decrease in executions due to a lack of drug components.
This marks the second time that a pharmaceutical company has turned to the courts to block an execution. The first attempt in Arkansas, however, did not succeed.
Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, who temporarily accepted Alvogen's appeal, scheduled a new hearing for September.
Since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Nevada has executed 12 offenders.
The last execution took place in 2006.
--IANS
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