South Carolina Senate OKs ‘shield law’ for lethal injections

By JAMES POLLARD
Associated Press/Report for America

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Senators hope a bill passed Wednesday will help the state resume capital punishment after an involuntary pause for nearly 12 years. Lawmakers approved a bill concealing the identity of pharmaceutical companies providing lethal injection drugs for state executions. The state has been unable to purchase the drugs necessary for lethal injection since the state’s batch expired in 2013. Officials have largely blamed that inability to replenish the supply on the lack of a so-called “shield law.” Republican leaders have said pharmaceutical companies fear public pressure from activists and therefore will not sell to states that do not conceal their identities.