Second of Arkansas’ 3 lethal injection drugs expires

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The second of Arkansas’ three lethal injection drugs has expired and prison officials say their search for a replacement remains on hold until an execution secrecy law is expanded.

Arkansas’ supply of potassium chloride, which stops the inmate’s heart, expired Friday. Its supply of vecuronium bromide, another drug that stops the lungs, expired in March.

Arkansas’ supply of midazolam, the sedative used in its lethal injections, expires at the end of January.

The Department of Correction said in July that its search for lethal injection drugs is on hold until the Legislature adds manufacturers to a law that keeps Arkansas’ source of execution drugs secret. An attorney for the state last week said it was unlikely Arkansas would obtain new drugs before next spring.