In October, Missouri planned to use propofol, a widely-used medical anesthetic, to execute its first prisoner since 2011. Most of the U.S.’s supply comes from Europe, which is opposed to the death penalty and was considering limiting exports if Missouri went through with its plans. Since the drug’s U.S. manufacturer also doesn’t want it being used in executions, we investigated and found that the state had obtained the drug from an unauthorized distributor. On the day our story aired, Missouri’s governor Jay Nixon postponed the execution, ordering the Department of Corrections to find a new execution drug.
