ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia officials waffled on whether to proceed with an execution when the lethal injection drug was discovered to have a cloudy appearance, according to court documents, and one expert said the state’s decision to postpone it was the right move.
The execution of Kelly Renee Gissendaner was delayed late Monday night. A day later, officials decided to temporarily halt executions until they could more carefully analyze the pentobarbital, which is supposed to be clear.
Michael Jay is a professor at the University of North Carolina’s Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He says Georgia did the right thing by not injecting the cloudy drug.
The cloudy drug bolstered death penalty opponents, who have been vocal in their opposition after three botched executions in other parts of the country.