To: Department of Justice
DOJ: Please investigate Arizona's attempt to illegally import execution drug
In July, federal agents at Phoenix airport stopped a shipment of drugs, illegally obtained by the state of Arizona, that could be used to carry out lethal injections. Arizona was trying to import from the UK an anesthetic that is no longer manufactured in the United States by FDA-approved companies. In the wake of a national shortage of drugs necessary to perform executions, many states have issued indefinite moratoriums on this barbaric practice. But, this situation points to a troubling reality that some states are willing to break the law in order to be able to continue carrying out executions.
Why is this important?
The death penalty should be abolished for a variety of reasons--after all, the vast majority of the world's nations have clearly found the reasons to do so. Since 2002, no year has gone by in which even 30 countries have executed someone (Amnesty International). To put that in perspective, the United Nations has 193 member states. In 2014, the United States executed 35 people, the sixth-highest total of any country. Ahead of the U.S., in order, were North Korea, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. Rounding out the top 10, in order, were Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, and Somalia (Amnesty International). Is this the company we want to keep? Are U.S. levels of democracy and rule of law comparable to those of these countries? Do we really want to allow our nation to kill its own citizens, especially when state institutions are willing to break the law to keep killing?