Two pharmaceutical companies are objecting to legislative efforts to expand the secrecy surrounding the source of Arkansas’ lethal injection drugs, saying the proposal would hamper their ability to ensure their products aren’t being used for executions.
An official with Hikma Pharmaceuticals raised concerns with state House leaders in a letter this week about a proposal to prohibit the state from releasing information that could directly or indirectly identify the supplier of Arkansas’ execution drugs. The state doesn’t have any executions scheduled, and its supply of lethal injection drugs has expired.
The president and CEO of Fresenius Kabi USA raised similar concerns in a letter sent this month to Gov. Asa Hutchinson and lawmakers about the bill, which was passed by the Senate and is pending before a House committee.
