Timeline for California’s "Secret Mission" for Lethal Injection Drugs

July 2010 to Present (in reverse chronological order)

Aug. 11, 2011 – The ACLU and the SF Bay Guardian filed a Federal Lawsuit, asking the court to order the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to disclose records regarding the worldwide scramble for execution drugs by state prison officials. View court papers.

April 28, 2011 – The ACLU and the SF Bay Guardian file a preliminary injunction motion, asking the court to order the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to disclose records regarding the worldwide scramble for execution drugs by state prison officials. View court papers.

April 26, 2011 – DEA seizes Alabama’s supply of thiopental.

April 22, 2011 – The ACLU and The Guardian file a federal lawsuit to enforce a request for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which the DEA had ignored for nearly four months. The suit was filed after Arizona and Nebraska set execution dates intending to use imported drugs of questionable legality and quality.

April 21, 2011 – DEA seizes South Carolina’s supply of thiopental.

April 20, 2011 – Court papers filed in the Beaty v. FDA case. View court papers.

April 15, 2011 – Britain announces it will ban the export of execution drugs to the U.S. and hopes other European Union countries to follow suit.

April 11, 2011 – The ACLU of Northern California received additional and less redacted versions of the January 19, 2011 documents from the New Orleans District Office. This was in response to an appeal filed by the ACLU-NC that the documents received on January 19, 2011 were not sufficient. View documents.

April 11, 2011 – The ACLU of Northern California received three pages of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) documents. Prior to sending the documents to the ACLU-NC, CBP first sent to the DEA to review. The DEA reviewed, made some redactions, and then sent to us. View documents.

April 7, 2011 – the ACLU of Northern California received five pages of test results of the sodium thiopental. These tests were conducted by an outside laboratory retained by the CDCR. View documents.

April 7, 2011 – Indian company “Kayem” announces it will cease to supply additional execution drugs to U.S.

April 5, 2011 – The ACLU of Northern California received 111 pages of documents from Customs and Border Protection, although 19 are completely blacked out and most of the other pages are heavily redacted. These records all relate to the Arizona shipments and come from the DC office of Customs and Border Protection. View documents.

April 1, 2011 – DEA seizes supply of thiopental from Tennessee and Kentucky.

March 31, 2011 – The ACLU of Northern California received a batch of records from the FDA office in Los Angeles. The records all relate to Arizona, and provide new information that Arizona actually made two purchases of drugs from Dream Pharma. One purchase in September of all three drugs and then a separate purchase in October of just sodium thiopental. View documents.

March 29, 2011 – Eric King is executed in Arizona with drugs obtained from British company Dream Pharma.

March 21, 2011 – The ACLU of Northern California received 15 pages of email and other correspondence between the FDA and counsel representing incarcerated individuals in various states who are asking the FDA to ensure that the import of execution drugs into the U.S. was done legally. View documents.

March 15, 2011 – DEA seizes Georgia’s supply of thiopental.

Feb. 8, 2011 – The FDA sends additional documents to the ACLU of Northern California in response to their Jan. 4, 2011 FOIA request. View documents.

Feb. 3, 2011 – In response to ongoing legal challenges by the ACLU of Northern California, the CDCR was ordered to re-release less redacted versions of certain pages of the January 4, 2011 documents which pertain to the CDCR's first acquisition of 12 grams of Sodium Thiopental, as well as release six new pages. View documents.

Feb. 2, 2011 – The CDCR released another 412 pages of documents in response to the ACLU of Northern California’s Nov. 30, 2010 – Public Records Act Request seeking records related to the Department’s second purchase of around 521 grams of Sodium Thiopental. View documents.

Feb. 2, 2011 – Death row prisoners from California, Arizona, and Tennessee filed suit against the FDA seeking to prohibit the FDA from allowing the importation or use of unapproved sodium thiopental.

Jan. 25, 2011 – Emmanual Hammond is executed in Georgia with drugs obtained from British company Dream Pharma.

Jan. 21, 2011 – The CDCR announces receipt of the 521 grams of sodium thiopental and that 6.5 grams of this shipment was sent to a lab to be tested.

Jan. 21, 2011 – Hospira, the sole American manufacturer of sodium thiopental announces it will no longer produce the drug because it cannot prevent the drug from being used to execute people.

Jan. 19, 2011 – FDA delivers 63 pages of documents. View documents.

Jan. 4, 2011 – The ACLU of Northern California submits Freedom of Information Act requests to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Jan. 4, 2011 – The CDCR delivers an additional 192 pages of documents to the ACLU, responsive to the Oct. 7 Public Records Act Request. The 192 pages are less redacted versions of the December 8th document submission. View documents.

Dec. 8, 2010 – After being ordered by the court, the CDCR delivers 989 pages of heavily redacted documents to the ACLU of Northern California responsive to the ACLU’s Oct. 7 Public Records Act Request. View documents.

Dec. 8, 2010 – Nebraska obtains 500 grams of thiopental from Indian pharmaceutical company “Kayem”

Nov. 30, 2010 – ACLU of Northern California submits a Public Records Act Request to obtain records related to the CDCR’s Nov. 22 acquisition of 521 grams of sodium thiopental.

Nov. 22, 2010 – CDCR reveals another supply of sodium thiopental. On Nov. 29, they are due to receive 521 grams of the drug – technically enough to execute 177 people. This new supply will expire in 2014.

Nov. 19, 2010 – CDCR Secretary Mathew Cate announces that the CDCR will make public where and how they acquired the sodium thiopental "in a few weeks."

Nov. 17, 2010 – The ACLU-NC files suit with the CDCR because they have failed to respond to the Oct. 7 Public Records Act Request which asked the CDCR to disclose any of the records detailing how the agency obtained their new supply (12 grams) of sodium thiopental.

Oct. 26, 2010 – Jeffrey Landrigan is executed in Arizona with drugs obtained from British company Dream Pharma.

October 14, 2010 – Attorneys for Jeffrey Landrigan, a death row inmate in Arizona who is scheduled to be executed on Oct. 26, ask the courts to reveal the source for the state’s recent acquisition of sodium thiopental. They refuse.

Oct. 7, 2010 – The ACLU of Northern California submits a Public Records Act request to obtain records relating to the October 6th surprise purchase of sodium thiopental (12 grams).

Oct. 6, 2010 – The CDCR reveals that it has acquired more sodium thiopental (12 grams), but does not say where it’s from.

Oct. 1, 2010 – The CDCR’s limited supply of sodium thiopental expires at 12:01 am – just three hours after the scheduled execution of Albert Brown.

Sep. 30, 2010 – Although it is not revealed to the courts or the public until October 6th, the CDCR mysteriously acquires a new supply of sodium thiopental. On the same date, Arizona also acquires the drug.

Sep. 29, 2010 – California Attorney General concedes and the execution of Albert Brown is cancelled until a thorough and lawful review of the new lethal injection protocol is completed.

Sep. 27, 2010 – Governor Schwarzenegger delays execution to Sep. 30 at 9:00 pm, after Attorney General realizes the office committed a procedural, legal error. The execution is now set for just three hours before the drug expires.

Sep. 25, 2010 – CA Attorney General reveals that the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has a limited supply of sodium thiopental and that the entire supply expires on Oct. 1, 2010 at 12:01 a.m.

Aug. 30, 2010 – California Court sets an execution date for Albert Brown for Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 12:01 am.

Aug. 9, 2010 – ACLU of Northern California submits a Public Record Act Request to the CDCR asking for documents related to preparations for carrying out executions.

July 2010 – The public learns that Hospira, the only approved US source of sodium thiopental, is out of the drug and cannot manufacture more until 2011.