Firm in India halts sales of execution drug to US

Associated Press, By GREG BLUESTEIN

ATLANTA (AP) -- A pharmaceutical company in India says it is no longer going to sell a key lethal injection drug to U.S. prison officials.

It's the latest firm to stop selling the drug to states in the U.S. amid a severe shortage of the drug sodium thiopental.

Kayem Pharmaceutical posted a statement on its website Thursday, citing its Hindu beliefs in the decision to stop selling the drug.

Nebraska announced in January it had acquired 500 grams from Kayem, which is based in Mumbai. A company salesman says he also sold the drug to South Dakota, but state prison officials couldn't immediately be reached.

At least seven states have secured sodium thiopental from overseas. The drug is part of a three-drug cocktail that most of the 34 death penalty states use.