Alabama executes Christopher Johnson

Christopher Johnson

ATMORE, Alabama (AP) — A man in the state of Alabama has been executed for killing his infant son in February 2005.

Authorities say Christopher Johnson was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m. local time Thursday after receiving a lethal injection at Holman prison. The 38-year-old man, when asked if he had any last words, said only: "Game over."

Johnson was convicted in the death of his 6-month-old son, Elias Ocean Johnson, at their home. He testified that he killed and suffocated his son because he hated his wife and didn't want to be near her.

Johnson was the sixth person executed in Alabama this year and the fourth to die since the state changed one of the drugs in its lethal injection from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital — owing to a nationwide shortage of sodium thiopental.

Christopher Johnson had refused to pursue any appeals in an attempt to stop the execution. The 38-year-old Johnson filed court papers in May saying he didn't want to go to court on his behalf.

Johnson was the 6th person executed in Alabama this year and the 4th to die since the state changed one of the drugs in its lethal injection from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital - owing to a nationwide shortage of sodium thiopental. Johnson becomes the 55th condemned inmate to be put to death in Alabama since the state resumed capital punishment in 1983.

Johnson becomes the 38th condemned inmate to be put to death in the USA this year and the 1272nd overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

Source: AP, Rick Halperin, October 20, 2011

Lundbeck’s Pentobarbital kills its 31st patient in Alabama on October 20, 2011

Christopher Johnson died by lethal injection at Holman prison in Atmore, Alabama. He was a 38-year old man suffering from mental illnesses. His last word was: “game over”. He was pronounced dead at 6:25pm

Lundbeck continues to keep its head in the sand, while being the shame of the pharmaceutical profession in Europe. Since its decision to implement a controlled distribution system of Pentobarbital in the US last June 2011, it has not taken any steps to block the use of its products for human executions, but keeps lamenting about the misuse of Pentobarbital by US departments of corrections. No half measure there, if such a strong opposition existed, Lundbeck would not have waited six months to implement a secure distribution system in the US, and it would have taken legal action to block its product from being used to kill people.

Lundbeck is now responsible for 31 of the 39 executions carried out so far in the United States since December 2010.

Source: The Pentobarbital Experiment, October 21, 2011

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