Democrats ask Justice Department to rescind Trump-era position on execution drugs

A group of Democratic senators on Tuesday called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to rescind a Trump administration-era position on execution drugs.

“We are aware of the May 3, 2019 Office of the General Counsel (OLC) memorandum titled “Does the Food and Drug Administration Have Jurisdiction Over Articles Intended for Use in Lawful Executions?” We respectfully request that you immediately rescind the OLC Opinion,” the group wrote in a May 12 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) OLC opinion erroneously found that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to regulate drugs intended for use in executions,” the letter said. There is. “This opinion is deeply flawed, both legally and morally, and poses unnecessary risks to death row inmates, including the risk of a botched execution.”

The group of senators who signed the letter include Sens. Cory Booker (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia), Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

“This erroneous OLC opinion violates principles of fairness and justice, undermines drug safety, and promotes a legally questionable method of state executions,” the letter said. ” [Food and Drug Administration] States cannot intervene when they obtain unmarked vials from underground suppliers and inject contaminated solutions into their citizens, causing unnecessary painful deaths. ”

An April report by the anti-death penalty group Reprieve found that black inmates on death row experience higher rates of botched lethal injections than white inmates, with black inmates 220 percent more likely to experience a botched lethal injection than white inmates.

“It is well established that the death penalty is infected with racial bias at every step of the process,” the report states. “This report makes clear that racial disparities in capital punishment extend to the execution chamber.”

The Hill contacted the Department of Justice.