Arkansas buys drugs for lethal injections; governor expects to set execution dates soon

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2015, file photo, Rep. Douglas House, R-North Little Rock, speaks at a meeting of the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. House sponsored legislation to keep secret the source of drugs used in executions in the state secret. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File) (The Associated Press)

Arkansas says it's bought drugs needed to resume lethal injections

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday that he expects to be asked soon to schedule the state's first execution in 10 years.

The Arkansas Department of Correction said it spent more than $24,000 to acquire the three drugs needed, including midazolam. That sedative was implicated in troubled executions in Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma.

An Arkansas law lets the Correction Department keep the name of the supplier secret over concerns about protests.

Hutchinson said he recently spoke with Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and expects her to seek execution dates soon. Rutledge spokesman Judd Deere says the office doesn't have a firm timetable on when Arkansas might execute eight condemned inmates who have exhausted their appeals.