Edwards vs Landry on death penalty

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is offering ways he said the corrections department could carry out death sentences in the state, continuing his clash with Gov. John Bel Edwards over capital punishment.

Landry sent a letter Tuesday to Edwards suggesting a switch in the drug used for lethal injection or using the Louisiana State Penitentiary's pharmacy to make the drug, a process known as compounding.

The Democratic Edwards' administration said the Republican attorney general's suggestions for "policy changes" are unworkable.

Natalie LaBorde, corrections deputy assistant secretary, said drug companies refuse to sell their products for executions. She says private pharmacists don't want to sell ingredients to make into a lethal injection drug through a compounding pharmacy because their identities could be publicly disclosed.

Louisiana's last execution was in 2010.

The following is Landry's letter to Edwards:

Below is the response from Richard Carbo, spokesman for Gov. Edwards:

“We have received the latest letter from the Attorney General. We are pleased that he has conceded that current law, not the governor, is standing in the way of the state resuming executions, which have been on hold since 2010. Quitting the very lawsuit that was meant to bring justice for these families was never the answer, so his commitment to re-engage is welcome news. In the 211 days the legislature has been in regular session since 2016, the attorney general has not offered a single bill. We will review his suggestions and hope to re-start a constructive dialogue. In the future, it is our hope that we can handle process disagreements person-to-person rather than through the media.”