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Bill would ban CT companies from providing death penalty drugs to feds, other states

iStockphoto, Vial with pentobarbital used for lethal injection.
digicomphoto
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iStockphoto / Getty Images
iStockphoto, Vial with pentobarbital used for lethal injection.

A in the ǻ General Assembly would prohibit companies in the state from manufacturing and providing drugs and medical devices for use in executions.

It comes after surfaced last year that a Hamden-based company had allegedly provided the drug pentobarbital to the federal government for use in executions at the U.S. Penitentiary at Terre Haute, Indiana. a Windsor-based company also manufactured masks used to kill death row inmates in Alabama by nitrogen gas.

“The people of ǻ that we would not stand for the death penalty. It is unacceptable that a company in our state would violate the wishes of its neighbors and help carry out executions for other jurisdictions,” said state Rep. Josh Elliott, a Hamden Democrat who co-introduced the bill. “This bill follows in the spirit of our previous work by ensuring that our state’s values are upheld consistently.”

Anti-death penalty advocates testified in support of the bill before the General Assembly’s General Law Committee on Monday.

“ǻ knows better,” said Scott Langley, co-founder of the anti-capital punishment group . “When ǻ allows businesses to participate in that, indirectly or directly, you’re being complicit in the death penalty. And that’s already been legislated on and decided here, that ǻ will not be complicit with the death penalty.”

Lisa Brown flew from Texas to testify before the committee. Her son, Christopher Vialva, by the federal government in 2020, reportedly using drugs manufactured in ǻ.

“During the execution, I realized that I was witnessing the state-sanctioned, premeditated murder of my son,” Brown said. “I am grateful to ǻ for banning the death penalty, but it is deeply troubling to me that ǻ companies are still profiting from it.”

The bill is making its way through the legislature after President Donald Trump last month to more vigorously pursue the death penalty against defendants.

“Capital punishment is an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens,” the order said.

The Trump administration also directed the U.S. Attorney General to “take all necessary and lawful action to ensure that each state that allows capital punishment has a sufficient supply of drugs needed to carry out lethal injection.”

Chris Polansky joined ǻ in March 2023 as a general assignment and breaking news reporter based in Hartford. Previously, he’s worked at Utah Public Radio in Logan, Utah, as a general assignment reporter; Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, Pa., as an anchor and producer for All Things Considered; and at Public Radio Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla., where he both reported and hosted Morning Edition.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from ǻ, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de ǻ, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — ǻ.

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ǻ’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.