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May 14 (UPI) -- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has again issued a reprieve in an execution scheduled to take place later this year, citing struggles securing the drugs needed for the lethal injection. He issued the reprieve Friday for death row prisoner Kareem Jackson, who was originally set to be executed Sept. 15. His new execution date is Dec. 10, 2025.
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"Governor DeWine is issuing this reprieve due to ongoing problems involving the willingness of pharmaceutical suppliers to provide drugs to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC), pursuant to DRC protocol, without endangering other Ohioans," a statement from his office said.
DeWine has delayed upcoming executions over the drug issue several times since he took office in January 2019. Ohio's next scheduled execution is that of Quisi Bryan on Oct. 26.
The state's last execution was held in 2018.
Ohio has had difficulty securing supplies of the three drugs it uses in its lethal injection protocol -- midazolam, potassium chloride, and either vecuronium bromide, pancuronium bromide or rocuronium bromide. Companies have refused to sell any drugs -- even those not used in executions -- to Ohio if they find out the state has used them in executions.
Ohio previously instituted a three-year moratorium on executions in 2014 after the family of Dennis McGuire sued over his lengthy execution during which he could be heard gasping for breath. The state used an untested two-drug lethal injection protocol to kill McGuire.
Jackson was sentenced to death for the 1997 murders of two drug dealers after a robbery in Columbus.
