sqlite3_stmt_busy() has been around since SQLite 3.7.10. I suggest to drop the in_use field of pysqlite_Statement in favour of sqlite3_stmt_busy(); we do not need to duplicate functionality already present in SQLite.

There was a bugfix for sqlite3_stmt_busy() in SQLite 3.8.6 regarding rollback statements, but we normally reset all our statements after use, so it should not be a problem. There are some corner cases in _pysqlite_query_execute() where a sqlite3_stmt may not be reset upon return, but that's easily fixable (and it would be a nice side-effect).

Pro's:
- statement objects have one less member
- no duplication of SQLite functionality
- cleaner exit paths from _pysqlite_query_execute()
- less lines of code, easier to maintain

Con's:
- the current code works / "code churn"

$ git diff --stat
 Modules/_sqlite/connection.c |  1 -
 Modules/_sqlite/cursor.c     |  5 +----
 Modules/_sqlite/statement.c  | 14 +-------------
 Modules/_sqlite/statement.h  |  2 --
 4 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-)

See also bpo-44958