The government will put in measures to prevent the export to the US of three drugs used in executions, following the previous emergency export control of sodium thiopental - the drug used to anaesthetise the condemned inmate in a lethal injection - which prisons in the US were buying from the UK to due to shortages of the drug.
The UK government now intends to control the export to the US of these drugs:
1. Pancuronium bromide - muscle relaxant which is the second drug in the three-drug sequence used by many states, and causes paralysis of the condemned inmate.
2. Potassium chloride - the third drug in the three-drug sequence, which stops the heart of the condemned inmate.
3. Sodium pentobarbital - this drug is often used to put down animals, but has recently been used in a number of executions in the US due to dwindling supplies of sodium thiopental.
The US are now turning to a Danish company, Lundbeck, for the drugs they need to carry out executions.
As a British citizen, I'm personally very glad to hear that my country has decided not to assist the US in committing legal murder. The UK fully abolished the death penalty in 1998, although the last execution was in 1964. The UK does not the support the death penalty, and as such we shouldn't be helping other countries to carry out executions. This is a positive step in the right direction, and will hopefully inspire other countries carrying out exports to the US of lethal drugs to do the same.
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