Nevada building new execution chamber despite drug cutoff

LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Department of Corrections says it will move forward with construction of a new execution chamber despite a shortage of lethal injection drugs.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the pharmaceutical company Pfizer recently became the last manufacturer of Food and Drug Administration-approved lethal injection drugs to stipulate that its drugs cannot be used for execution.

Corrections department spokeswoman Brooke Keast says the state still plans to build the execution chamber at Ely State Prison. State lawmakers approved the $858,000 project in 2015.

In a statement, Keast said access to the drugs could change at any time and the department should be prepared to carry out a court order to execute.