The co-chair of a legislative panel reviewing Maryland's death penalty protocols said proposed rules will be withdrawn due to the lack of availability of a drug used in lethal injections.
Delegate Anne Healey, a Prince George's Democrat, said Thursday that she was told by Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Gary Maynard that he is withdrawing the protocols. She says that's because changes in the protocols will be so substantive that the rules will have to be revised.
The sole U.S. manufacturer of the lethal injection drug announced last month it is ending production because of death-penalty opposition overseas.
A court ruling in 2006 requires approval of the protocols before an execution can take place in Maryland.
Maryland Death Penalty Protocols to Be Withdrawn
Copyright AP - Associated Press
