Arizona wants to speed up executions before its drugs go out of date

Arizona wants to fast-track two executions because the state’s drug supply has a shorter shelf life than first thought.

The Arizona Department of Corrections announced in April it was ready to execute two inmates and spent $1.5 million (£1.1 million) for the drug. Both men were convicted of murder.

But authorities recently acknowledged in court that it only has 45 days to carry out the lethal injections, according to AZ Central. It was thought that Arizona had 90 days from issuing motions for two execution warrants to compound the drug, test it, and carry out executions by the fall.

Frank Atwood, the first of the two inmates scheduled for execution, has a date for 28 September; the second, Clarence Dixon, has a date for 19 October, according to AZ Central.