US Supreme Court won't stop Texas execution over state refusal to name lethal drug supplier
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This handout image provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows convicted killer Tommy Lynn Sells, who is scheduled to die Thursday, April 3, 2014. On Wednesday, April 2, 2014, a federal appeals court threw out a ruling requiring the Texas prison system to disclose more information about where it gets lethal-injection drugs, reversing a judge who had halted the upcoming execution. (AP Photo/Texas Department of Criminal Justice) (The Associated Press)
The U.S. Supreme Court won't stop the execution of a Texas serial killer whose attorneys want the state to release information about where it gets its lethal injection drug.
Tommy Lynn Sells' lawyers' plea to the high court was rejected about an hour before his scheduled execution Thursday.
A lower court had stopped the execution earlier this week and ordered Texas to reveal more information about its drug supplier. But that ruling was tossed on appeal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sells' attorneys say they need to know the name of the pharmacy providing Texas' pentobarbital, the drug used during executions, in order to verify its quality and protect Sells from unconstitutional pain and suffering.
Texas prison officials say drug supplier information must be kept secret to protect the provider from threats of violence.