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If the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections was ordered to execute a prisoner by lethal injection tomorrow, it would not have the drugs to do it.

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If the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections was ordered to execute a prisoner by lethal injection tomorrow, it would not have the drugs to do it.

Corrections Secretary John Wetzel told the Pennlive/Patriot-News Editorial Board Friday that that state does not currently have the drugs needed to perform lethal injections.

And if he needed to get them, Wetzel said there's no easy way to acquire them.

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Some states -- including Texas and Nebraska -- have been criticized for how they obtained their drugs and where they purchased them. If the state needed to purchase the drugs, Wetzel said it would be an open process.

"We would get it legally, ethically and appropriately," Wetzel said.

Pennsylvania uses a three drug cocktail to perform lethal injections. The first part -- a fast acting barbiturate -- is very difficult to obtain, Wetzel said.

Finding difficulty in obtaining these drugs is nothing new, Wetzel said. In 2014, the state was unable to get the necessary drugs in 2014 to execute Michael Hubert, who was convicted of kidnaping, raping and killing a 16-year-old girl.

As a result, former Gov. Tom Corbett had to issue a reprieve.

In February, Gov. Tom Wolf declared a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania, halting the process for 186 prisoners who've received a death sentence.

Earlier this week, the Pa. House Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly approved a resolution that is intended to send a message to Wolf that it strongly disapproves of the reprieves he has granted that delayed the execution of two convicted murderers.