Expert: Arkansas may have reliable source of execution drug

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A death penalty expert says Arkansas' recent purchase of a lethal injection drug — in a small amount and at a cheap price — suggests the state has found a reliable supplier to help it move 30 inmates from death row to the execution chamber.

The state Department of Correction said Thursday it had paid $250 in cash to buy enough midazolam for use in two executions. A heavily redacted hand-written receipt shows the material was picked up in person on Aug. 4.

"The $250 would lead me to believe they aren't buying from someone trying to benefit from a shortage," said Jen Moreno, a staff attorney with the Death Penalty Clinic at the University of California Law School at Berkeley.