From Missouri Digital News: https://mdn.org

JEFFERSON CITY - Citing several concerns about the availability of the drug Propofol, a state lawmaker recommends Gov. Nixon propose more methods of executing the remaining death row inmates.

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, wrote a letter to the governor, asking him to include money for a new gas chamber in the budget or propose a third method of execution. 

He voiced his concerns after the European Union threatened to stop exporting the most commonly used anesthetic.

“If Propofol is not going to be a long-term viable mechanism to carry out those judgments, which it appears it may not be, then the governor needs to let the general assembly know and make a recommendation of what he needs with the Department of Corrections,” Schaefer said.

About 85 percent of Propofol used in the U.S. comes from European Union countries, and Missouri anesthesiologists don’t expect domestic producers to make up for the loss.

The state does have enough of the anesthetic to carry out three more executions-- the first batch will expire this month.

Missouri scheduled the execution of convicted murders Allen Nicklasson on October 23 and Joseph Franklin on November 20, both using Propofol. 

Schafer thinks it is the governor’s obligation to carry out these executions.

“It’s not discretionary for the governor to carry out a judgment of execution, it has to be done it is the law and it’s not discretionary,” Schaefer said.  “We’re not the federal government, we’re not going to pick-and-choose which laws we enforce and which ones we don’t. So I have confidence in the governor’s ability to carry that out.”

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