Indiana § 35-38-6-1 - Execution of death sentence; specified time and date; executioner; lethal injection

§ 35-38-6-1. Execution of death sentence; specified time and date; executioner; lethal injection

Sec. 1. (a) The punishment of death shall be inflicted by intravenous injection of a lethal substance or substances into the convicted person:

(1) in a quantity sufficient to cause the death of the convicted person; and

(2) until the convicted person is dead.

(b) The death penalty shall be inflicted before the hour of sunrise on a date fixed by the sentencing court. However, the execution must not occur until at least one hundred (100) days after the conviction.

(c) The warden of the state prison, or persons designated by the warden, shall designate the person who is to serve as the executioner.

(d) The department of correction may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 necessary to implement subsection (a).

(e) The department of correction may make and enter into a contract with an outsourcing facility, a wholesale drug distributor (as defined in IC 25-26-14-12), a pharmacy (as defined in IC 25-26-13-2), or a pharmacist (as defined in IC 25-26-13-2) for the issuance or compounding of a lethal substance necessary to carry out an execution by lethal injection. A lethal substance provided to the department of correction under this subsection may be used only for the purpose of carrying out an execution by lethal injection. The issuance or compounding of a lethal substance under this subsection:

(1) does not constitute the practice of pharmacy (as defined in IC 25-26-13-2);

(2) is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Indiana board of pharmacy, the medical licensing board of Indiana, the Indiana department of health, or the Indiana professional licensing agency; and

(3) is exempt from the provisions of IC 25.

A pharmacist, a pharmacy, a wholesale drug distributor, or an outsourcing facility that provides a lethal substance to the department of correction under this subsection shall label the lethal substance with the name of the lethal substance, its dosage, a projected expiration date, and a statement that the lethal substance shall be used only by the department of correction for the purpose of carrying out an execution by lethal injection.

(f) The following are confidential, are not subject to discovery, and may not be introduced as evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding:

(1) The identity of a person described in subsection (e) that enters into a contract with the department of correction under subsection (e) for the issuance or compounding of lethal substances necessary to carry out an execution by lethal injection.

(2) The identity of an officer, an employee, or a contractor of a person described in subdivision (1).

(3) The identity of a person contracted by a person described in subdivision (1) to obtain equipment or a substance to facilitate the compounding of a lethal substance described in subsection (e).

(4) Information reasonably calculated to lead to the identity of a person described in this subsection, including a:

(A) name;

(B) residential or business address;

(C) residential or office telephone number; and

(D) Social Security number or tax identification number.

This subsection applies retroactively to any request for information, discovery request, or proceeding, no matter when made or initiated.

As added by P.L.311-1983, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.294-1995, SEC.1; P.L.20-2002, SEC.1; P.L.217-2017, SEC.158; P.L.67-2017, SEC.15; P.L.86-2018, SEC.334; P.L.56-2023, SEC.322.