By Seanna Adcox
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina legislators may await a U.S. Supreme Court decision before voting on a bill that prison officials say will help them secure a drug they need for an inmate’s execution.
The bill would keep secret the information of any company or pharmacist who provides execution drugs.
House Judiciary Chairman Greg Delleney said Thursday he sees no urgency to get ahead of the court. The next execution order in South Carolina may be years away.
A judiciary subcommittee took no action on it Thursday. Last month, a Senate committee rejected a similar bill on a 7-7 vote.
The nation’s high court is expected to hear arguments later this month on whether Oklahoma’s three-drug execution mix is constitutional.
Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said that case involves a different drug.