Mississippi has not executed a death row inmate since June 2012, and no executions are currently scheduled. But a new court filing shows that the state Department of Corrections in recent months has acquired drugs to carry out lethal injections.
Attorneys for the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center sued the Mississippi prison system in April 2015 on behalf of two death row inmates, saying the state’s lethal injection protocol is inhumane.
The lawsuit is still going on, and it specifically tries to block Mississippi from using compounded pentobarbital as the first of three drugs in executions. A compounded drug is one made in a pharmacy.