A scheduled federal court hearing on a Virginia inmate's challenge of the state's use of lethal injection drugs from Texas has been set for 1 p.m. in Richmond.
U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Trenga had scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. Thursday in Alexandria after Alfredo Prieto's attorneys asked the court to halt his execution until officials disclose more information about the drugs they plan to use.
But the hearing was canceled late Wednesday after Trenga approved the state's request to transfer the case to Richmond.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson is now the presiding judge in Richmond.
A temporary restraining order granted Wednesday that blocks the state from carrying out the execution remains in place. The state had been planning to give Prieto a lethal injection at 9 p.m. on Thursday.
As of Wednesday evening, no judge had been assigned in Richmond and no hearings had been scheduled.
The serial killer was convicted of three murders including two near Reston, Virginia in the 1988 shooting deaths of Rachel Raver and Warren Fulton III.
Meanwhile, Prieto's attorneys have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution, arguing that he's intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty.
Manufacturer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The manufacturer of one of the drugs that Virginia officials planed to use to execute a death row inmate this week says it demanded that the state return the drugs when it learned of their intended use.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request show that the Virginia planned to use rocuronium bromide manufactured by the pharmaceutical maker Mylan to execute Prieto. It's one of three drugs the state plans to use in the 49-year-old's execution.
A Mylan spokeswoman said Wednesday that Virginia purchased the drugs from a wholesaler. She said the company sent several letters to Virginia officials when learned about the drug's possible use and then demanded that the state return the product when it received no response.
A Department of Corrections spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
