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The manufacturer of two drugs used in Ohio executions says it opposes lethal injection and that it seeks to save lives, not end them. Ohio obtained midazolam and hydromorphone from a distributor of the company, and not the company itself.

(The Dallas Morning News)

Dennis McGuire

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The drug maker that manufactured the two drugs used for Ohio executions says it opposes lethal injection and makes products to save lives, not end them.

How the drugs got to Ohio underscores how far states will go to obtain drugs for executions.

Hospira Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill., made the midazolam and hydromorphone that Ohio received in late 2013 for its lethal injections, a state spokesman said. The two types of drugs were used in Dennis McGuire's execution Jan. 16.

The same types were to be used in the lethal injection of case Gregory Lott, the condemned Cleveland killer who was to be put to death March 16. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, however, granted him a reprieve until Nov. 19, as he awaits a prison system examination of McGuire's death and the drugs used in it.

"Hospira makes its products to enhance and save the lives of the patients we serve, and, therefore, we have always publicly objected to the use of any of our products in capital punishment,'' the company says on its web site.

While the company says it produced the drugs for medical reasons, a distributor in San Francisco -- McKesson -- sold the product to the Ohio Pharmacy Service Center in late 2013, said Eric Wandersleben, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Gregory Lott

The state pharmacy center is part of the mental health agency, and it provides pharmaceuticals to governmental agencies in Ohio, according to state officials. The Associated Press was the first to report the links between Hospira and McKesson and Ohio's executions.

A spokesperson for McKesson could not be reached for comment.

"States are willing to go to extraordinary means to get drugs for executions,'' said Michael Benza, a senior instructor in law at Case Western Reserve University's School of Law. "And as states struggle to find the drugs, they will try new and novel approaches to get them.''

On its web site, McKesson says it "helps healthcare providers improve business health and deliver better care to patients. As a pharmaceutical distributor and healthcare information technology company, McKesson provides systems for medical supply management, clinical workflow, practice management, pharmacy automation and care management."

In an attempt to stop its drugs from reaching death rows, Hospira said it is restricting its distribution system. It has stopped the direct sale to U.S. prison hospitals of seven drugs used, or considered for use, in executions: pancuronium bromide, potassium chloride, propofol, midazolam, hydromorphone, rocuronium bromide and vecuronium bromide.

"(Because of) the complex supply chain and the gray market in the United States, despite our efforts, Hospira cannot guarantee that a U.S. prison could not secure restricted products through other channels not under Hospira's control,'' the web site said.

The company has made a strong stand in the past, as well. In 2011, The Plain Dealer reported that Hospira announced that it would no longer make sodium thiopental in protest over its use in lethal injections.

Because of the fight to obtain the drugs used in executions, some states have sought to use compound pharmacies. Some lawmakers have become so exasperated with the issue of lethal injection that they have proposed alternatives from the past, such as the electric chair, hangings, firing squads and gas chambers.

It took about 25 minutes for McGuire to die during his execution from midazolam and hydromorphone. At times, he struggled to breathe, tensed his body and snorted, according to court records. He was convicted of raping and killing Joy Stewart in 1989, and advocates for the death penalty said his suffering paled in comparison to what Stewart faced.

Lott, 52, was convicted in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in 1987 of beating and robbing John McGrath, who was 82. Lott also threw lamp oil on McGrath and burned him. Police found him days later in his ransacked East Cleveland home. He later died of pneumonia caused by the untreated burns.