A Nevada judge halted the execution of a twice-convicted murderer on Wednesday after a pharmaceutical company filed a lawsuit seeking to block the use of one of its drugs in the execution, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The pharmaceutical company Alvogen filed a challenge on Wednesday accusing the state of Nevada of surreptitiously obtaining the sedative Midazolam and saying that it did not want the drug used in executions.
The order by Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez delaying the execution marks the first time a pharmaceutical company has succeeded in halting an execution over legal or ethical concerns.
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The health-care supply company McKesson filed a similar lawsuit in Arkansas last year, but that challenge was rejected.
Gonzalez’s ruling delays the execution of Scott Dozier, 47, who was set to be put to death on Wednesday evening. Dozier was convicted of first-degree murder in 2007 for the slaying of 22-year-old Jeremiah Miller.
Dozier has said that he wishes to be executed and that being put to death is better than spending the rest of his life in prison. He has also said that he does not care if the execution is painful.
If the judge allows the state to move forward with Dozier’s execution, he would be the first inmate put to death in Nevada in more than a decade.
According to the Review-Journal, Gonzalez has scheduled a status hearing in the case for Sept. 10, while Dozier’s execution warrant expires at the end of the week.