Lundbeck finally accepts it must act on execution drugs

Maya Foa, of the Legal action charity Reprieve, today met with the Chief Executive of Lundbeck, the pharmaceutical company which has been supplying lethal injection drugs to US death rows.

During the meeting, Lundbeck's CEO, Ulf Wiinberg, told Ms Foa that the company has reconsidered its position - which Reprieve has said from the beginning was untenable. Mr Wiinberg now acknowledges that there are steps that the company could take to restrict the distribution of pentobarbital (also known as Nembutal) so that it is not delivered to execution chambers in the US, but still reaches legitimate users.

While the company would not make concrete assurances, it is now actively considering Reprieve's proposals and has hired 'external consultants' to assess the most effective strategies. Following fierce criticism from press, politicians, NGOs and shareholders, Lundbeck has promised to be more transparent in their communications on this matter going forward. Wiinberg assured Reprieve that this time the full independent consultancy would be published.

Following the meeting, Reprieve Investigator Maya Foa said:

"At last we are beginning to see some positive movement from Lundbeck on this issue. But too much time has already been lost - not to mention too many lives. 13 people have been killed so far using their drugs, and another seven are set to be executed by the end of this month - the timeframe in which Lundbeck promises to reconsider the issue. Given the drugs that Lundbeck have sold since we first warned the company that 3,000 prisoners faced execution with pentobarbital in the US, scores of lives could be taken. Lundbeck must not only stop the supply immediately, but also comply with all Reprieve's requests to repair the damage that has been done. They cannot repurchase their reputation for a mess of pottage; they have an obligation to take immediate and effective action."

1. For further information please contact Donald Campbell in Reprieve’s press office on +44 (0)20 7427 1082
2. Reprieve has suggested a range of possible courses of action to Lundbeck to put a stop to the use of its drugs in executions – a briefing on the issue can be found here: http://www.reprieve.org.uk/static/downloads/2011_05_12_PUB_NEMBUTAL_DISTRIBUTION_BRIEFING.pdf
3. Lundbeck’s drugs have so far been used in 13 executions across seven US states, as follows:
Alabama: Jason Williams
Arizona: Donald Beaty
Mississippi: Benny Stevens, Rodney Gray
Oklahoma: John David Duty, Billy Don Alverson, Jeffrey Matthews
Ohio: Johnnie Baston, Clarence Carter, Daniel Bedford
South Carolina: Jeffrey Motts
Texas: Cary Kerr, Gayland Bradford
These numbers are set to grow as more and more states are turning to Lundbeck’s drugs following shortages of the previously-used anaesthetic sodium thiopental.
4. Danish pension fund Unipension recently sold their shares in Lundbeck, citing concerns over their use in executions and the company’s unwillingness to engage with investors on the issue. Unipension told the Associated Press: "It has not been possible for Unipension to get a detailed report regarding Lundbeck's efforts to ensure that its products are not used in an unwanted manner […] It has been our impression that Lundbeck did not want to engage in a genuine dialogue with us as an investor." http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/13/general-eu-denmark-execution-drug_8465488.html

Source: Reprieve, June 6, 2011

_________________________
Use the tags below or the search engine at the top of this page to find updates, older or related articles on this Website.

Comments

Two Germans to be caned, jailed for Singapore train graffiti

"Singapore: Disneyland with the death penalty" A Singapore court sentenced two Germans to nine months in prison and three strokes of the cane on Thursday after they pleaded guilty to breaking into a depot and spray-painting graffiti on a commuter train carriage. Andreas Von Knorre, 22, and Elton Hinz, 21, both expressed remorse while being sentenced in the state courts of the island republic. “This is the darkest episode of my entire life,” said Von Knorre. “I want to apologise to the state of Singapore for the stupid act ... I’ve learnt my lesson and will never do it again.” Hinz added: “I promise I will never do it again. I want to apologise to you, and my family for the shame and situation I’ve put them into.” Both were dressed in prison uniform — a white T-shirt and brown trousers with the word “Prisoner” down the sides and on the back. They spoke to the court in English. Singapore sentences hundreds of prisoners to caning each year as part of a syst...

Florida death row inmate wants DeSantis to attend his pending execution

Dennis Michael Sochor is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday, the 29th person executed by the state in the past 19 months. Dennis Michael Sochor, convicted of strangling an 18-year-old woman he met at a New Year’s celebration in a Broward County bar 44 years ago, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison. His last wish? To have Gov. Ron DeSantis personally observe his execution up close and personal.

We Asked Ohio’s Death Row What They Think of Governor’s Death Penalty Reversal

Like Gov. Mike DeWine, most agreed the death penalty is broken and does not deter crime, but not always with the same reasoning. Some people on Ohio’s death row praised Gov. Mike DeWine for having the courage to come out against the death penalty. Others said actions speak louder than words, and they want the governor to commute their death sentences to life without the possibility of parole. But all agreed with the governor on one thing: Ohio’s death penalty law is broken. DeWine said long delays in carrying out executions undermine its intended function as a deterrent. Condemned prisoners resoundingly said that the possibility of being executed never stopped anyone from committing murder.

Iraq: German schoolgirl, 17, turned jihadi bride escapes death penalty and is jailed for six years

GERMAN Jihadi bride Linda Wenzel has been jailed for six years in Baghdad for her role as an Islamic enforcer with terror group ISIS. Wenzel, 17, who last year sobbed on TV “I have ruined my life,” could have faced the death penalty. German media reported that a German embassy representative in Iraq was in court yesterday to witness her sentencing. She received five years for joining IS and one year for entering Iraq illegally. Wenzel was found in the rubble of IS stronghold Mosul back in the summer of 2017. Charges were laid against her and three other German women captured with her. Schoolgirl Wenzel fled to Turkey then into Syria last year from her hometown of Pulsnitz in eastern Germany after being groomed online by a Chechen IS fighter who she married. He was killed in the savage fighting for Mosul while she was employed by the terror group enforcing the strict Islamic dress code on women in the city. She burst into tears after her capture and said s...

Tibetan protesters executed for Lhasa riot killings

Tibetan exiles have reported the first executions of those convicted for rioting last year in Lhasa, with at least two people put to death in a rare implementation of capital punishment in the restive region. Two Tibetans convicted of arson and sentenced to death in April were executed on Tuesday morning in Lhasa, reported The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, which is based in the Indian town of Dharamsala—the home in exile of the Dalai Lama. It said that Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak had been sentenced to death for their part in setting fire to five shops in the Tibetan capital, killing seven people, in the riot that rocked Lhasa in March last year. Officials say that 21 people — including three Tibetan protesters — died in the violence, which embarrassed Beijing just as it was preparing to stage the Olympic Games and prompted a security crackdown across the Himalayan region. The body of Mr. Gyaltsen had been returned to his family and then submitted to a river burial—an un...

Florida | Former prison warden who oversaw executions urges corrections workers to not participate in them

Recently Florida carried out the execution of Dusty Spencer , a 74-year-old Marine veteran, for the murder of his wife, Karen, in 1992. It was the ninth Florida execution this year. For their own sake, I urge Florida’s corrections workers to refuse to carry out another one. Before you dismiss me as some soft lefty, you should know that I am an Air Force veteran. I voted for Ron DeSantis for governor twice—and for Donald Trump for president three times.

Indiana | ‘Dignity’ is a poor excuse for blocking press access to state executions

Indiana law says that the press has no right to be present when the state carries out executions. It limits those who can attend to the warden of the prison where the execution is carried out, immediate family members of the crime victim, no more than five friends or relatives of the convicted person, the prison physician, and the prison chaplain. Only if an inmate selects a member of the press as one of the five friends may they attend.

Iraq: Saddam Hussein Execution was Moved Forward Because of Gaddafi Rescue Plans, Judge Says

Saddam Hussein's execution on December 30, 2006 The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was accelerated due to the belief that the then Libyan leader, Muammar El-Gaddafi, had a plan to rescue him from prison, Judge Mounir Haddad revealed today. Hadad, who presided over the trial of Hussein, revealed to the Al-Arabiya Satellite Channel Point of Order program new details of the trial against the former president and his last moments before being hanged, including the 'health and welfare' votes for the magistrate himself . According to his testimony, the application of the death penalty to Saddam Hussein was precipitated because authorities knew that El-Gaddafi - later murdered in 2011 - was allegedly trying to bribe US guards who guarded him to rescue him from prison. He added that, contrary to previous reports from the local and US press, former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani gave his 'implicit approval' for Hussein's execution, an...

As Idaho Reinstates Firing Squad, Volunteers Sought for Executions

The state becomes the first in the U.S. to make the firing squad the standard method of capital punishment Idaho is opening a new phase in the administration of capital punishment in the United States, returning to the firing squad as the default method of execution. The decision reintroduces a system that has been abolished or abandoned in most of the country and is now being reorganized through a formal and highly structured framework. The new death penalty protocol State authorities have begun recruiting volunteer law enforcement officers to take part in executions. The operational model includes three primary shooters assigned to carry out the execution, two alternates, and one operations coordinator. All participants will remain anonymous, known only to the prison warden and deputy warden.

Iran: Delara Darabi has now been scheduled for execution

Delara Darabi has now been scheduled for execution, according to the Iranian newspaper Etemad on 18 April, according to another source on 20 April. She was convicted of murdering a relative when she was 17. Unless the Judiciary intervenes, she can now escape execution only if the woman’s entire family accept payment of diyeh, or blood money. One of the familly is said to be undecided. Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibit the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - expressing concern that Delara Darabi is in imminent danger of execution for a crime committed when she was under 18; - calling on the authorities to halt the execution of Delara Darabi immediately, and commute her death sentence; - reminding the authorities that Iran is a state part...

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog