LAS VEGAS — A Nevada judge is halting the use of a drug in the execution of twice-convicted killer Scott Raymond Dozier hours before he was scheduled to die by a first-of-its-kind lethal injection mixture. Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez ordered the delay Wednesday morning in response to a challenge by New Jersey-based drugmaker Alvogen, which says it doesn’t want its product, midazolam, used in “botched” executions.

Alvogen’s objections were aired at a hearing that unfolded less than 11 hours before Dozier was to be put to death with a three-drug injection never before tried in the U.S.

The pharmaceutical company urged a judge to block the use of midazolam, saying the state of Nevada obtained the product through “subterfuge” for unapproved purposes. Dozier has insisted he wants to be executed and doesn’t care if it’s painful. The ruling effectively put the execution on hold.

Todd Bice, an attorney with Alvogen, accused the state of deceptively obtaining the company’s drug by having it shipped to a pharmacy in Las Vegas rather than the state prison in Ely. Alvogen sent a letter to state officials in April telling them it opposes the use of its products in executions, particularly the sedative midazolam, Bice said.

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