Indiana
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.
“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.
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“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.”
MOORESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — A Mooresville police officer was involved in a “serious crash,” Saturday afternoon, officials say.
According to a Facebook post made by the Mooresville Fire Department, officers are advising the public to avoid the area of the 200 block of East Main Street due to a “serious crash” involving a Mooresville Metropolitan Police officer.
East Main Street is currently closed between Maple Lane and Franklin Street.
Police say the roads will remain closed while a crash investigation is being conducted.
Police did not provide details on the officer’s condition.
This is a developing story.
The resort area of southwest Michigan along Lake Michigan is wildly popular with Chicagoans in summer and fall for good reason. The coastal stretch offers sophisticated dining and shops, breweries, wineries, beaches, sunsets on Lake Michigan and a vacation vibe wherever you go.
If you haven’t been in a couple of years, you’ll find Indiana’s coast, home of the Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park, is worth more than a hiking or gas-station stop.
Though the towns along the lake are small and don’t have centers of commerce, many exciting new places have sprung up on U.S. Route 12, the scenic drive that skirts the lake’s edge.
Beverly Shores and Michigan City, Ind.
Miles from Chicago: 54
Sadly, the orange Studebaker that for years served up excellent wood-fired pizza is no longer parked in Beverly Shores, a small lake community famous for its collection of historic homes from the 1933-34 Chicago World’s Fair. The only way to get a South Shore Ovenworks pie now is to reserve the food truck for a private event.
Console yourself with shopping. The founder and former owner of Cowboys and Astronauts, a men’s store in Andersonville, has opened Blanket Fort (1 E. Dunes Highway), a design studio and shop in Beverly Shores. Matthew Buccilla describes his style as “vintage modern meets-cozy cabin-meets Japanese wabi-sabi.” His bona fides include designing spaces around the world for furniture maker Herman Miller. Blanket Fort, located in a cool midcentury building, is open the first and third weekends of the month.
The Heron, a French restaurant in Michigan City, Ind.
Neighboring Michigan City has seen an explosion of new restaurants, including The Heron (522 Franklin St.) which thankfully has strayed from the usual New American/Italian playbook and instead focuses on French food. A great happy hour from 4-6 p.m. (even Fridays!) features $10 martinis and deeply discounted wine and beer.
Up the street is Rocco’s Tavern (827 Franklin St.) from the family who owns Cafe Farina next door and Farina’s Supper Club in Michiana. Rocco’s makes you feel like you’re in a Rush Street steakhouse.
Interior of Rocco’s Tavern in Michigan City, Ind.
A reservation-only 12-seat Lebanese restaurant, C.12, (132 E. 6th St.) just opened in the lower level of a 100-year-old Masonic Temple. It’s owned by longtime area restaurateur Momahed “Moe” Mroueh. Diners sit around a horseshoe-shaped counter with an open kitchen. There’s one seating a night, offering a prix-fixe tasting menu ($65).
Also below ground is The Nightingale (1108 Franklin St.), a moody spot with small lamp-lit tables, great old-school cocktails, and live music, mostly jazz and blues. It’s open only occasionally so check before you go.
Cellar Door (1901 Franklin St.) opened last year in an historic building that once housed Harmony Bar. Cellar Door is everything you want in a classic neighborhood tavern — friendly service, carved wooden bar, games (10-pin bowling! Vintage pinball!), patio — and then add good wine and creative food. The head bartender and chef came from the well-regarded Hummingbird Lounge in New Buffalo.
A few new shopping options have popped up in Michigan City, too: The Wren (410 Wabash St.), a gift shop with a focus on sustainable, natural products, is across from Lighthouse Place Outlet Mall. Abigail Hayden Interiors & Design (607 Franklin St.) is a charming shop in the Arts District, filled with home accessories and art, as well as the owner’s own line of upholstered furniture.
The Standard 1208 in Michigan City, Ind.
The Standard 1208 (1208 E. Second St. at U.S. 12), formerly called Unsalted No Sharks and located in downtown Michigan City, has opened in an old Standard Oil station across from Burn ’Em Brewing (1215 E. Second St.). In addition to cool gifts and souvenirs, The Standard serves Italian sub sandwiches, great for taking to the beach. A second location just opened in New Buffalo (19 N. Whittaker St.).
Michiana, Ind.
Miles from Chicago: 67
The bar at Tavern on Twelve in Michiana, Ind.
Heading north on Route 12, Swells: A Dive Bar (3201 U.S. 12), cooks up four kinds of pizza: tavern style, Detroit style, deep dish and hand-tossed (New York style) and manages to do it all extremely well. There are soups, salads and sandwiches, too. It’s the sort of place where groups come to watch their team on TV. A dive bar with Veuve Clicquot on the menu? Sign me up.
Just up the road is Tonelli’s Tavern on Twelve (3103 U.S. 12), from the owner of Michigan City’s popular Tonelli’s, which closed a few years ago. This property has hosted a few restaurants in recent years (Blind Pig, Trip’s Tree House), but Tonelli’s seems to have found a groove in its 12 months in business, serving up classic Italian red-sauce fare at decent prices.
New Buffalo and Union Pier, Mich.
Miles from Chicago: 70
Farmette, a provisions store on the outskirts of New Buffalo
Across the border in Michigan, you might think not much changes in the little towns along Red Arrow Highway save for the time change. But many new restaurants and shops have opened, and a couple of longtime favorites have shuttered.
Just past all the new cannabis dispensaries on Route 12 (some 18 or so with more on the way), Farmette (18439 U.S. 12) on the outskirts of New Buffalo has become an instant favorite, with an in-house bakery specializing in sourdough, a coffee and drinks bar, and specialty food shop with a well-stocked freezer and refrigerator case, as well as produce and flowers in season (much of it grown on site). The owner tended Rick Bayless’ garden in Chicago once upon a time.
New Buffalo is home to arguably the hottest restaurant along this coast: PostBoy (207 N. Whittaker St.), which opened in fall of 2024. Heading the kitchen is James Galbraith, who founded Benton Harbor’s foodie favorites Houndstooth and Anemel. Galbraith previously worked under Chicago chefs at Intro, Blackbird, Elske, S.K.Y., Bellemore, and Boka. There’s a hopping patio and indoor/outdoor bar; be sure to reserve ahead. This place gets jammed.
If you’re looking for food to take to your Airbnb or vacation home, Angela’s Provisions (225 N. Whittaker St.) has homemade soups, pastas, breakfast and lunch sandwiches and salads, made to order or stocked in the fridge/freezer case.
Bookshore in New Buffalo, Mich.
The perfect hostess gift for discerning hosts is at Bookshore, which features big, gorgeous art books meant for a coffee table — or any surface. It’s owned by the same family that runs the popular tourist draw Stray Dog restaurant.
Harbor Country’s biggest news lately was the closing of Greenbush Brewing Company in Sawyer, a popular spot for 12 years. But beer lovers have other options.
The newest of the lot, which opened last fall, is Mangata Beer Co. (15936 Red Arrow Highway) in Union Pier, a sister operation of the award-winning Transient Artisan Ales (4229 Lake St.) in Bridgman. This tasting room focuses on easy-drinking, lower-alcohol beers such as pilsners, lagers, saisons and Belgian ales, all created at Transient’s brewhouse.
Sawyer and Three Oaks, Mich.
Miles from Chicago: 80
Longstory, a restaurant in Three Oaks, Mich.
Fulcra Brewing Company (13400 Red Arrow Highway) opened last July in a two-room bungalow in Sawyer, the dream of two home brewers (one a Dark Matter Coffee alum.) Fulcra focuses on balanced, drinkable brews. A beer garden has just opened; look for live music, food trucks or restaurant pop-ups, the owners say.
Three Oaks saw the closing of its popular pizza take-out, Patellie’s, last winter. But while pizza lovers mourned the loss, the owners used the space to expand their wine and beer store. P.+E. Bottle Shop (28 N. Elm St.) now carries cheese, bread, crackers, olives and prepared food — all the stuff that goes great with wine. And speaking of wine, there’s now a much-expanded selection of wine and craft beer.
For breakfast or lunch, two Chicago transplants have reopened the popular Viola Cafe (102 N. Elm St.), which was closed for a few years. Along with their chef, former Chopping Block owner Shelley Young, they’ve put a Southern twist on it. Think po’ boys, beignets, meat loaf, greens, fried green tomatoes and mac ’n’ cheese alongside breakfast classics.
Three Oaks had not had a stylish dinner spot for dinner until recently, with the opening of Longstory (8 Maple St.) in December 2024. The restaurant has had some bumps, with chef changes and the like, but is popular with locals, who gather for happy hours and order from the New-American-with-an-accent menu of chicken shawarma, Tuscan kale salad, polenta torte, grilled fish, New York strip, roasted beets and more.
Inside the popular boutique Goods & Heroes (7 Maple St.), a former clearance room has become a store within a store, GH Yarn Haus, which specializes in natural fibers and holds knitting get-togethers and classes.
Dreihart Winery, a wine tasting room, in Three Oaks, Mich.
A small wine tasting room (capacity: 25) opened in spring 2025 just off Three Oaks’ main drag. Dreihart Winery (6 Linden St. E.) is an offshoot of 6 Linden, which sells local meat, produce, eggs and cheeses, along with imported pastas and such. Winemaker Gottfried Hart, a charming man with a few stories to tell, is usually pouring. A former co-owner of Hickory Creek Winery in Buchanan, he’s one of several area winemakers who understands that Michigan can produce dry, complex wines similar to those from Austria and his native Germany. Grab some smoked trout rillette to pair with your wine.
Jan Parr, a former Chicago journalist, lives in the middle of the Indiana Dunes, in Beverly Shores. She writes about local happenings at DunesDiva.com.
Saturday, May 30, 2026 12:14AM
HIGHLAND, Ind. (WLS) — Police are searching for a missing man with autism who was last seen riding a bicycle near his home in Northwest Indiana.
Brody Shelton, 21, was last seen around noon Thursday near Laporte Street and Johnston Street in Highland, Indiana, officials said.
Indiana State Police have issued a Silver Alert as the the search for Shelton continues.
He is 5 feet 2 inches tall, 155 pounds, brown hair with brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a beige and green sweatshirt, and riding a blue/green Huffy mountain bike, police said.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact the Highland Police Department at 219-838-3184 or 911.
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