Absolute Standards, a chemicals manufacturer based in Connecticut, has announced that it will no longer produce pentobarbital, a lethal drug used in executions. The company’s president, John Criscio, confirmed this decision in a letter to two Connecticut legislators. This is the first formal acknowledgment by Criscio that his company was involved in the production of pentobarbital for lethal injection executions.
Conservative policy leaders have been advocating for an increase in federal executions if Donald Trump is reelected. They have even recommended executing all 40 people on federal death row. However, obtaining drugs like pentobarbital has become increasingly challenging for prison officials due to restrictions imposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers. The Bureau of Prisons spent years searching for a supplier before obtaining its first batch of pentobarbital in 2018. Absolute Standards’ decision to stop producing the drug could further impede future executions.
Absolute Standards faced scrutiny and pressure from Connecticut lawmakers and anti-death penalty activists after news reports linked the company to federal executions. Bianca Tylek, the executive director of Worth Rises, expressed cautious optimism about Criscio’s pledge to stop making pentobarbital but emphasized the need for continued vigilance. While Criscio’s letter indicates a willingness to cease production, it falls short of making an irrevocable commitment.
The Trump administration executed 13 people at the federal death chamber in Terre Haute, Indiana, starting in July 2020. Absolute Standards was identified as the company that supplied the Bureau of Prisons with execution drugs. The company’s president and director confirmed that they produced the active pharmaceutical ingredient for pentobarbital used in these executions. Anti-death penalty activists launched a public campaign to stop Absolute Standards from participating in executions, resulting in negative Google reviews and thousands of emails sent to the company.
Connecticut state Sen. Saud Anwar and Rep. Josh Elliott requested a meeting with Criscio to discuss his company’s activities, but he declined, citing threats and attacks he had received. Anwar and Elliott plan to introduce a bill that would make it illegal for Connecticut companies to participate in the death penalty. If passed, it would be the first legislation in the country banning the sale of drugs or materials for use in executions.
Connecticut officials have been concerned about Absolute Standards selling drugs for executions since 2021. The state’s attorney general, William Tong, wrote a letter to the company stating that providing drugs for executions goes against the values and policies of the state.
Pharmaceutical producers have been refusing to sell pentobarbital and other drugs for use in executions for over a decade. Despite these efforts, some states have managed to obtain the substances needed for lethal injection. Idaho and South Carolina, for example, announced last year that they had obtained pentobarbital after years of searching.
States have taken measures to protect the identities of their drug suppliers, enacting laws to hide information about their execution processes. A former Bureau of Prisons official noted that Absolute Standards’ decision to stop producing pentobarbital was not surprising, considering the threats they received. However, this revelation raises the question of who is currently supplying the drug to states that are still using it for executions.
