A Fulton County judge says an execution scheduled for Tuesday evening at the state prison in Jackson can proceed.
That decision comes even after defense attorney’s question where the Georgia Department of Corrections got the drugs to perform the lethal injection.

Sodium thiopental, used as part of a three drug lethal injection cocktail, is almost impossible to find. The company that makes it has stopped production and several countries have quit exporting it.

Attorneys for convicted murderer Emmanuel Hammond say the Georgia Department of Corrections purchased their latest supply from a questionable source in England. Gerry Webber is with the Southern Center for Human Rights.

“The drugs were purchased from a driving school in London that is unlicensed, that is not approved by the FDA. They were shipped in on the packing label of a company that hasn’t existed since 2006.”

Corrections officials say they used it successfully in September to perform the execution of Brandon Rhode. Webber says they will likely appeal the ruling. Hammond was convicted in 1990 for the murder of 27-year old Atlanta resident Julie Love.

Tags: death penalty, Southern Center for Human Rights, Georgia Department of Corrections, lethal injection, sodium thiopental, Emmanuel Hammond, Julie Love