Kentucky is dropping its proposed use of a two-drug execution method after the prolonged deaths of inmates in two other states that used a similar means to carry out death sentences.
In a filing Thursday in Franklin Circuit Court, prosecutors cited "recent events in other states" as the reason for seeking to rewrite the regulations over the next six months.
Lethal injections have undergone scrutiny in recent years as the drugs used to carry out the process have become tougher for states to get as pharmaceutical companies barred their use for executions.
Executions in Kentucky have been on hold since 2010 when Judge Phillip Shepherd took issue with how executions were handled.
Since then, Ohio and Arizona have both used a two-drug method in executions that were prolonged.