Drugs used in executions have become more difficult to acquire, as companies have resisted selling them for such purposes.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - With Louisiana having trouble getting lethal injection drugs, a lawmaker is proposing that the state bring back the electric chair.
Rep. Joe Lopinto, chairman of the House criminal justice committee, has filed a bill that would let Louisiana's corrections secretary choose between lethal injection and electrocution when carrying out a death sentence.
Lawmakers will consider the bill during the legislative session that begins March 10.
Drugs used in executions have become more difficult to acquire, as companies have resisted selling them for such purposes.
In January, the state announced a new execution protocol using a two-drug combination. But prison officials have expressed concern those drugs could become difficult to obtain.
Lawyers for the condemned killer scheduled for Louisiana's next execution also are challenging the two-drug method in federal court.