Arkansas joins with 14 states, side with Nevada in drugmaker delay of execution

August 7, 2018 at 12:36 p.m.

FILE - This Nov. 10, 2016, file photo released by the Nevada Department of Corrections shows the newly completed execution chamber at Ely State Prison in Ely, Nev. A maker of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl has joined a bid to block Nevada from using its product in the first execution in the state in more than 12 years. (Nevada Department of Corrections via AP, File)
FILE - This Nov. 10, 2016, file photo released by the Nevada Department of Corrections shows the newly completed execution chamber at Ely State Prison in Ely, Nev. A maker of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl has joined a bid to block Nevada from using its product in the first execution in the state in more than 12 years. (Nevada Department of Corrections via AP, File)

LAS VEGAS — Fifteen states are siding with Nevada as it fights drug companies battling the use of their products in an inmate's execution.

Republican attorneys general from 15 states filed documents Monday with the Nevada Supreme Court arguing that drug company Alvogen's claims are a part of a "guerrilla war against the death penalty."

The attorneys general represent Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt has asked the state's high court to quickly review the matter so convicted killer Scott Raymond Dozier's twice-postponed lethal injection can be put back on track for mid-November.

A judge blocked Dozier's execution hours before it was scheduled in July so she could hear Alvogen's claims that Nevada improperly obtained its sedative midazolam. A second drugmaker has joined the case.

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