Texas prepares first US execution of 2017 amid dispute over drugs

Texas prison authorities were preparing Wednesday to carry out the first US execution of 2017, as controversy continued to swirl around the drugs used to conduct such lethal injections. Christopher Wilkins, 48, is to be executed at 18H00 (0000 GMT Thursday) at the Texas state penitentiary at Huntsville, barring a last-minute reprieve from the US Supreme Court. During his 2008 trial, Wilkins told jurors that the death penalty would be "no big deal," according to the Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegra