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State Medical Board Drops Review of Execution Drug Purchase

Arkansas Department of Correction

The Arkansas State Medical Board dropped a possible investigation Thursday into a Department of Correction-affiliated doctor’s role in obtaining a lethal injection drug.

The board was reviewing whether an ADC doctor might have used his license to help obtain a lethal injection drug from the McKesson Company.

McKesson sued the department in April, claiming a physician’s license on file had been used to purchase the drugs under false pretenses.

Board attorney Kevin O’Dwyer says the board ruled to drop the matter after finding no proof of the doctor’s involvement.

“I don’t recall exactly how his specific name came up, other than, in the course of our investigation, the doctor involved with the Department of Correction, we learned of his name,” he said, “And…couldn’t find any evidence,” he said.

O’Dwyer says fraudulently obtaining the execution drugs using a physician’s license would be a violation of the board’s practice act. Recourse could include reprimanding the physician, or suspending or revoking their license.

He says the board is not pursing any other investigation on the matter.

This story is produced by Arkansas Public Media. What's that? APM is nonprofit journalism project for all of Arkansas and a collaboration among public media in the state. We're funded in part through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with the support of partner stations KUAR, KUAF, KASU and KTXK. And, we hope, from you! You can learn more and support Arkansas Public Media’s reporting at arkansaspublicmedia.org. Arkansas Public Media is Natural State news with context.

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