( CNN ) -- Virginia is adding a drug used in a controversial Ohio execution to its roster of chemicals for lethal injections over the objections of the drug 's manufacturer . The state Department of Corrections announced Thursday that it would have the sedative midazolam available as an alternate drug for lethal injections . Midazolam was one of two drugs used in the January execution of Ohio convict Dennis McGuire , who was put to death for the rape and murder of a 22-year-old woman in 1994 . Like many U.S. states , Virginia has been forced to find new drugs to use on condemned prisoners after European-based manufacturers banned American prisons from using their drugs in capital punishment . McGuire 's lawyers argued that the drug would bring on an agonizing , suffocating death , and witnesses said the condemned convict appeared to be gasping for air for more than 10 minutes after receiving his injection . The Illinois-based pharmaceutical company Hospira , which manufactures midazolam , says it opposes the use of its products in lethal injections and no longer sells it to prison hospitals . `` However , due to the complex supply chain and the gray market in the United States , despite our efforts , Hospira can not guarantee that a U.S. prison could not secure restricted products through other channels not under Hospira 's control , '' the company says in a statement on its website . According to the website for the Death Penalty Information Center , Virginia uses a three-drug protocol , which involves drugs that have different effects on the body .
Virginia says it will use the sedative midazolam as a drug for lethal injections . The same drug was used in a controversial Ohio execution in January . The drug 's manufacturer says it objects to its use in capital punishment .