You Can't Take the Death Penalty Out of the Texan

On July 10, The Texas Tribune came out with an article describing the change in drug protocol that will be used for lethal injections. The drug, sodium thiopental which is part of the three-drug cocktail used for executions, will no longer be available to purchase for lethal injection. Instead, Texas and other death penalty states will be forced to use the drug phenobarbital, which is also used in animal euthanasia.  I found this article interesting because of the way it explained how Texas was "scrambling" to find alternatives to the three-drug cocktail previously used for lethal injections. The author made it sound like Texas was desperate to find an alternative to guarantee that it would be able to carry out the 9 executions it has scheduled in the next 4 months. I am not against the death penalty, but I do find it a little disconcerting how strongly this state supports it.