Indiana

What is pentobarbital? More questions than answers surround Indiana's new execution drug. • Indiana Capital Chronicle

Published

1 year ago

July 5, 2024

What is pentobarbital? More questions than answers surround Indiana's new execution drug. • Indiana Capital Chronicle

After state officials announced last week that Indiana will resume executions for the first time in over a decade, secrecy largely shrouds the new drug, pentobarbital, acquired for the impending lethal injections.

The one-drug method is a departure from the state’s protocol used since 1995, involving a series of three chemicals.

Although no state-level executions in Indiana have used pentobarbital before, 13 federal executions carried out at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute have been carried out with the drug. Fourteen states have used pentobarbital in executions, too.

But state and federal officials alike have remained closed-lipped about where pentobarbital is sourced from and how much it costs. Also still unknown is the amount Indiana has acquired and when the current doses expire.

Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. that tracks state and federal executions, said it’s also critical for the public to know who will be administering the drug — and how — as well as what training those individuals will receive.

“These are the hard questions that have to be asked,” Maher told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “This is an official government function, and in a democracy, we value honesty and transparency in our government officials and the acts they do on our behalf. This is absolutely one of those official acts, and voters in Indiana deserve to know what their government is doing in their name.”

What is pentobarbital?

The Hoosier state has carried out 20 executions since 1981. The first three — in 1981, 1985 and 1994 — were by electrocution. The rest have been by lethal injection — which is now the only method permitted by state law.

The Indiana Code doesn’t specify what drugs are to be used for executions, saying only that the drugs must be injected intravenously in a quantity and for an amount of time sufficient to kill the inmate.

Previously, when a prisoner was executed by lethal injection in Indiana, they were strapped to a gurney, and an IV line was inserted to inject a lethal combination of three substances: a barbiturate to render the person unconscious; pancuronium bromide to paralyze voluntary and reflex muscles; and potassium chloride to stop the heart.

But after Indiana’s last execution in 2009, the state was effectively forced to pause. Increased scrutiny of lethal injection drugs led pharmaceutical companies to refuse to sell their products for use in executions. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said that made acquiring the necessary drugs “harder to get.”

It wasn’t until last week that the governor, along with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, announced that the state’s Department of Correction has obtained the pentobarbital to carry out the death penalty.

The state is so far seeking an execution date for Joseph Corcoran, a man convicted in the killings of four people in Fort Wayne in 1997. There are currently eight men on Indiana’s death row, including Corcoran. No one has been added to the state’s death row since 2014.

In the one-drug executions, a prisoner is injected with an overdose of pentobarbital. The new drug, which Maher described as a sedative, has commonly been used to euthanize pets.

Joseph Corcoran killed four people in 1997 and was sentenced to death. (Mugshot)

“It’s a barbiturate that explodes the activity of the brain and the nervous system and breathing,” she said. “When you’re given an overdose of that, it will ultimately suppress breath and kill you.”

Pentobarbital was first introduced in 2010, according to the DPIC.

So far, 14 states have used the drug in executions: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia. Five additional states — Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina and Tennessee — additionally plan to use pentobarbital. Colorado includes pentobarbital as a backup drug in its lethal-injection procedure.

The same drug was also used for the 13 federal executions during the last six months of Donald Trump’s presidency.

In 2019, former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr approved the use of pentobarbital in executions, though President Joe Biden’s Justice Department announced a moratorium on federal executions in 2021.

A first-time method in Indiana

Whether Indiana uses pentobarbital or other drugs for executions, Maher said there are still concerns about what could go wrong.

She noted that lethal injections have the highest rate of botched executions, which occur when there is a breakdown in — or departure from — the “protocol” for a particular method of execution.

The DPIC describes at least two botched executions that have occurred in Indiana.

In October 1985, it took 17 minutes to execute William Vandiver. Still breathing after the first application of 2,300 volts, four more bursts of electricity were fired into him before he was pronounced dead, according to media reports from that time. The Indiana Department of Corrections admitted the execution “did not go according to plan.”

Tommie Smith, who died by lethal Injection in July 1996, also had a prolonged execution, according to the DPIC. Because of unusually small veins, it took more than an hour after the execution team began sticking needles into his body for Smith to be pronounced dead. After multiple attempts, the lethal drugs were finally injected into Smith 49 minutes after the process began. It took another 20 minutes before he was pronounced dead.

Holcomb defends Indiana’s move to carry out execution, saying ‘justice will be served’

Maher said many of the documented botched executions in recent years have occurred because the drugs being used had expired, were contaminated, or they were administered “incorrectly.”

“There are a number of ways that the executions can go wrong, and it doesn’t only have to do with the kind of drug that is used,” she said, noting, for example, that if pentobarbital isn’t stored at a proper temperature, the drug can expire and should not be used.

When asked where DOC acquired the drug — pentobarbital, which can be used to carry out executions – and how much the state paid, Holcomb said he “can’t go into those details, by law.”

Lawmakers made information about the source of the drugs confidential on the last day of the 2017 legislative session.

Indiana Capital Chronicle has filed an official records request seeking the cost of the drugs.

“States have been hiding this information behind secrecy statutes in an effort to avoid answering difficult questions about their execution protocols. These are elected officials. They are using government funding, and they are saying they are conducting an official function,” Maher said. “And all of that means they should be honest and transparent about what they’re doing and why. The fact that they have shrouded everything in secrecy in an attempt to avoid answering these questions is not something that we should simply be accepting.”

Recent reporting by The Intercept and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver identified Connecticut-based Absolute Standards as the source of the pentobarbital used in 13 federal executions in 2020 and 2021. Reporting did not confirm if the company also supplied to specific states, including Indiana.

Absolute Standards produces materials for calibrating research equipment, but in 2018, it applied to the Drug Enforcement Administration to be registered as a bulk producer of pentobarbital. The company has since indicated this week that it will no longer produce the drug.

Maher further pointed to Idaho, which reportedly spent $100,000 earlier this year to purchase three doses of pentobarbital, the drug used in lethal injections. It’s not clear if that’s the same quantity purchased or price paid by Indiana, however.

Need to get in touch?

Have a news tip?

“What officials have said … is that they do not want to have people who are involved in the execution process — for manufacturers of a drug — to be harassed by advocates. But there are almost no real life examples of that happening unless we characterize criticism as harassment, which I don’t think we should in a democracy,” Maher said. “People who are critical of decisions the state is making, in terms of where they are finding their drugs and how they are choosing to administer them, that’s part of being a public official. Responding to those questions from your constituents — that’s part of being a public official. That comes with the territory, and there is no justifiable reason for them to avoid answering those questions.”

The Indiana Public Defender’s Office, which is providing Corcoran with legal counsel, did not reply to the Capital Chonicle’s requests for comment about pentobarbital or the impending execution.

Larry Komp, a federal defender for Corcoran, said the legal team is still seeking clarity on the state’s lethal injection protocol.

Groups are starting to come out against Indiana’s move, including the Libertarian Party of Indiana.

“A government whose primary function is to protect life should not be in the business of ending it, especially given the United States Constitution protects the accused from cruel and unusual punishment. There is no more cruel punishment than putting someone to death,” the party said in a statement. “The state, simply put, should not be killing its citizens. The Libertarian Party of Indiana calls upon Governor Holcomb and the State of Indiana to halt all planned executions and, furthermore, upon the General Assembly to ban the use of the death penalty in Indiana.”

Source link

Click to comment

Indiana

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

Published

3 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

INDIANAPOLIS — Some schools in central Indiana are planning to close or delay the start of their classes on Tuesday.

The closures and delays come in the wake of a difficult weekend of severe winter weather in the Hoosier State. On Saturday, a wintry system dumped more than six inches of snow in some portions of the state.

Points north of Indianapolis like Lafayette received between three and four inches of snow. Towns south of the Circle City like Seymour saw similar snowfall totals. As for Indianapolis itself, more than five inches of snow were recorded in some portions of the city.

After Saturday’s snow, frigid temperatures took hold in the area. A Cold Weather Advisory was issued for much of the state as wind chill values dipped well below zero.

The cold and snow triggered a bevy of school closings and delays for Monday. Schools began to announce delays and closures for Tuesday late Monday night as snow removal crews across the state continued to try to keep roadways clear.

Though some schools plan to close or delay the start of classes on Tuesday, temperature improvements are forecasted. High temperatures are anticipated to exceed the 32-degree freezing threshold and hit 36 degrees. The warming trend is expected to continue on both Wednesday and Thursday, with high temperatures forecasted to reach 40 and 50 degrees, respectively.

Precipitation is forecasted for Thursday, though temperatures are expected to remain warm enough for Indiana to get rain instead of snow.

FOX59/CBS4 is tracking the closures and delays schools plan to implement on Tuesday. Check out the latest available list of closings below:

Jump To: A–Z

A

Area 30 Career Center

Putnam

Charles A Beard Mem School Corp

Henry

School

Delayed 2 hours

Cloverdale Community Schools

Putnam

School

2-Hour Delay, No AM Preschool

D

Decatur County Community Schools

Decatur

School

Delayed 2 hours

Source link

Indiana

AwardsWatch – Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture

Published

15 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

AwardsWatch – Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture

The Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) has named Sinners the best film of 2025, also awarding the film original screenplay, score, cinematography, editing and ensemble.

Paul Thomas Anderson was named best director for One Battle After Another, which also picked up acting wins for Benicio Del Toro (supporting performance) and Chase Infiniti (breakout of the year).

Here is the complete list of winners and runners-up.

Best Picture
Winner: Sinners
Runner-up: One Battle After Another

Best Director
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Best Lead Performance
Winner: Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Runner-up: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best Supporting Performance
Winner: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Best Vocal / Motion-Capture Performance
Winner: Will Patton, Train Dreams
Runner-up: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Best Ensemble Acting
Winner: Sinners
Runner-up: One Battle After Another

Best Animated Film
Winner: K-Pop Demon Hunters
Runner-up: The Legend of Hei 2

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: No Other Choice
Runner-up: Sentimental Value

Best Documentary Film
Winner: The Tenderness Tour
Runner-up: Orwell: 2+2=5

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Runner-up: Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Mike Flanagan, The Life of Chuck

Best Musical Score
Winner: Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
Runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another

Breakout of the Year
Winner: Chase Infiniti (performer), One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Miles Caton (performer), Sinners

Best Cinematography
Winner: Autumn Donald Arkapaw, Sinners
Runner-up: Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another

Best Editing
Winner: Michael P. Shawver, Sinners
Runner-up: Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another

Best Stunt / Movement Choreography
Winner: Wade Eastwood (second-unit director / stunt coordinator), Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Runner-up: Brian Machleit (stunt coordinator), One Battle After Another

Best Special Effects
Winner: Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess and Ivan Busquets (visual effects supervisors) and José Granell (miniatures / models supervisor), Frankenstein
Runner-up: Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl and Guido Wolter (visual effects supervisors) and Donnie Dean (special effects coordinator), Sinners

Original Vision Award
Winner: Good Boy
Runner-up: The Testament of Ann Lee

The Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

Indiana

Police shoots man armed with knife in Gary, Indiana, officials say

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Police shoots man armed with knife in Gary, Indiana, officials say

Updated on: December 15, 2025 / 12:07 AM CST
/ CBS Chicago

A man wielding a knife was shot by a police officer on Sunday in Gary, Indiana.

A spokesperson for the city said officers responded to the 2100 block of Tennessee Street for a call of a suicidal man who was armed with a knife in his hand. The man had already stabbed himself a couple of times before they arrived.

Officers found the man in the east alley of 22nd and Ohio. At this time, he was standing in the alley still with the knife in his hand and refused to drop it as ordered by officers. The man then started to advance toward the officer, who shot the man three times in the arm, the spokesperson said.

The officer notified the department that shots were fired, and the man was down. The condition of the man is unknown as of Sunday night.

Other officers responded to the scene to set up a perimeter around the area. The Gary Fire Department and Lake County Crime Scene Investigation personnel were also contacted.

No further information was immediately available.

If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk about anything.