Across the country, states are facing lawsuits from drug manufacturers who do not want their product used in the execution process.
As state governments have become increasingly desperate to secure lethal injection drugs, many have attempted to shroud the process in secrecy to prevent the general public and even the suppliers from knowing what drugs are being used.
These actions not only present freedom of association issues, they are also a very clear sign that the market has spoken. The death penalty is bad for business, and manufacturers, which have often spent millions of dollars and many years to bring a medication to the market, do not want their product damaged by the country’s appalling death penalty system.
The Los Angeles Times reports, “The drugmakers’ basic argument is that they create and market their products to alleviate suffering and heal the sick. Using them to kill runs counter to their intent, stigmatizes the drugs as lethal, and links the companies — against their will — with the intentional killing of human beings. The drug companies should be lauded for taking what is, in many instances, a moral stance in trying to keep their products out of execution chambers — yet another front in the multi-pronged effort to end capital punishment.”
As conservatives, we know the free market is the best allocator of resources and indicator of the desires of human beings. It’s time we pay attention to it and end the death penalty.
