The source of the drugs that were used for the first execution in Nebraska in over two decades is being revealed.
The ACLU of Nebraska has shared documents related to the death penalty carried out against convicted murderer Carey Dean Moore in 2018, which indicate the lethal injection drugs were sold by Community Pharmacy of Gretna, a holder of a state contract at the time.
The owner of the pharmacy, Tyler Janssen, says he was aware of the potential use of the drugs and that he regrets the decision to sell them. One of the drug makers sued days before Moore was executed to stop their product from being used, but the effort was denied by a judge.
After the documents were released Thursday night Janssen issued this statement.
Community Pharmacy Services is a family-owned, small business that is dedicated to supporting long-term care facilities in their pharmacy needs and operations. In a deviation from our core business, we were hired to manage the pharmacy operations for the Nebraska Department of Corrections facilities from 2016-2018. During the course of that contract, the company was asked by the state to legally sell drugs to the department. The company fulfilled that order following all DEA protocols and procedures, and understood the potential use of those drugs. Community Pharmacy Services has never supplied drugs since then to the Nebraska Department of Corrections or any other department of corrections, nor will it ever again. I regretted the decision as it does not align with our company’s values to provide the best patient care and customer service to the long-term care industry.
In May 2020, the Nebraska State Supreme Court ruled officials could no longer withhold the lethal injection records.