IDAHO, USA — The lawyers for Gerald Pizzuto Jr., who is on death row in Idaho, have filed a motion to compel the Director at the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC), Josh Tewalt, to provide information regarding the drugs that would potentially be used in his execution. One of the questions previously asked by the attorneys is if the drugs were obtained from a veterinary source.
The motion, filed on Friday, Feb. 2, states in previous request for discovery asking where the drugs (pentobarbital) were purchased and what type of source they were purchased from, Tewalt has denied responding, claiming that under Idaho Code § 19-2716 he cannot answer the questions.
The code prohibits disclosing the identities of any person or entity that the IDOC used to acquire chemicals used in a lethal execution. The motion filed by Pizzuto's lawyers specifically asks the question of where the drugs originated, either inside or outside the U.S., and what type of source the drugs came from, either "veterinarian, hospital, wholesaler/distributor, and pharmacy."
Documents filed with the motion contain a statement from Michaela Almgren, PharmD, M.S., an associate professor at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, who writes in her declaration that even if the state did say where and from what type of source the drugs were obtained, there would by no way to trace it back to a specific person, hospital, pharmacy, veterinarian or wholesale/distributor.
The specialist claimed many drugs made outside of the U.S. have been recently failed quality standards and been found to be contaminated.
"If pentobarbital is imported from outside of the United States, there is a possibility that it does not meet quality requirements as set by USP and FDA," Almgren wrote.
In previous discovery Tewalt has provided a certificate of analysis on the drug but the company responsible has not been disclosed. The current motion claims Pizzuto has an Eighth Amendment right to know where the drug was procured and who tested it.
Almgren also stated that veterinary drugs are not appropriate for human use.
"It is not appropriate for veterinary medications to be used on human beings. Veterinary medications are often formulated in ways that are suitable for animals, taking into account their physiology, pharmacokinetic parameters, and metabolism. These formulations are not appropriate for human use. Additionally, human drugs are manufactured under significantly more stringent regulations than veterinary medications," she stated.
No word on when the court could make a decision.
Pizzuto was convicted of murdering two people in McCall in 1985, was sentenced to death and set to be executed in March of 2023-- but he was granted a stay of execution.
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