The Georgia Department of Corrections still has not released findings of tests it said would confirm its theory that low temperatures caused clumps to form in a batch of specially-made lethal injection drug, which prompted the state to call off the scheduled execution of Kelly Gissendaner.
Six weeks ago, the department told the courts there would be more testing to determine what caused the pentobarbital made for Gissendaner’s execution to be cloudy. The department called off the execution on March 2, just in case the drug was contaminated.
A University of Georgia pharmacy professor said storing the drug at temperatures below 59 degrees may have caused clumps. Or, he said, the clumping also could have been the result of the batch being improperly mixed.
The testing is finished, but the DOC says it’s up to the state Attorney General’s Office to release the findings. Daryl Robinson with AG’s Office said the results would be filed with the court “at some point.”
DOC lawyer Robert Jones said the agency does not believe the drug was contaminated.
Gissendaner’s attorney declined to comment.
A Gwinnett County jury sentenced Gissendaner to die for planning he 1997 murder of her husband. Her then-lover, Gregory Owen, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after he pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing Douglas Gissendaner.
Georgia has not executed a woman in 70 years.
No new date has been set as she has a lawsuit pending in federal court.
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