Publisher's view: (Editorial); What else is Oklahoma hiding in its bid to shield the manner in which it administers the death penalty - kills people - behind a veil of secrecy? (Apart from the obvious shame the state officials from the Governor down must be feeling for having been exposed for their lies, bungling, incompetence, and utter indifference to the unspeakable pain they are unnecessarily causing to those the state has chosen to kill - and their contempt for the public's right to know and and for the legitimate interest - given the government's screw-ups to date - to the disclosure interests of the condemned and their lawyers.) Or do I dare be charitable and speculate that they are trying shield themselves from the shame of participating in such an indefensible process? (Way too charitable, I think!) I truly hope the federal judge will make short thrift of Oklahoma's quest for secrecy - and put a permanent hold on executions in the state until all of these issues are openly and publicly sorted out.
Harold Levy. Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
"Oklahoma's attorney general is asking for permission to disclose
information in a lethal injection lawsuit to the judge but not to
attorneys for death row inmates.
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Oklahoma's
attorney general is asking for permission to disclose information in a
lethal injection lawsuit to the judge but not to attorneys for death row
inmates. Why the state is asking for the secrecy is a mystery. Attorney General Scott Pruitt is representing the Oklahoma
Corrections Department in the legal challenge to Oklahoma's execution
protocol, and is investigating the agency over a drug mix-up on Sept. 30
that halted the execution of Richard Glossip.
On Tuesday, an assistant attorney general asked an Oklahoma City
federal judge for permission to file in secret a request for relief on
behalf of corrections officials because of those circumstances. A spokesman for Pruitt declined to explain the filing. "I don't have any further comment beyond the pleading the office filed today," spokesman Aaron Cooper said Tuesday...In a response filed Tuesday afternoon, federal public defenders for
the inmates said they were unable to determine what exactly the state is
asking the court to do and asked the judge to require Pruitt's office
to explain the request. Oklahoma law protects the identities of state and private employees
who participate in executions. The names of everyone from the physician
and officers in the execution chamber to the provider of the lethal
drugs is a state secret. The law came under scrutiny in state court last year, when Clayton
Lockett and Charles Warner sued the state over its ability to keep the
identities a secret. The inmates claimed that by allowing the drug
provider to remain anonymous, their public defenders could not properly
vet the qualifications and track record of the pharmacy. The attorneys
argued any incompetency in the manufacturing of the drugs could violate
the inmates' protection against cruel and unusual punishment. In March of 2014, about a month before Lockett's execution, Oklahoma
County District Judge Patricia Parrish ruled the state's execution
secrecy law was unconstitutional, finding the law was so restrictive it
prohibited even her from knowing the source of the state's lethal drugs.
Parrish questioned how she was supposed to make a ruling either way
without full knowledge of the facts. “I do not think this is even a close call,” Parrish said from the bench in March. “What good is (the inmates') access to the courts if you can't tell me the information?" Parrish's ruling was eventually overturned by the Oklahoma Supreme
Court. The state has kept its source for lethal drugs, as well as
members of its execution team, secret ever since...Lockett's execution ended up lasting 43 minutes, the majority of
which was shielded from the press. After Lockett began to writhe and
mumble, the blinds were closed 16 minutes into the procedure, and
reporters were escorted out of the death chamber. The state Public
Safety Department investigation later concluded it was an improperly
placed IV in Lockett's femoral artery that caused problems that night. Warner was eventually executed in January, but it wasn't until this
month it was revealed the state had used potassium acetate to kill
Warner instead of the legally allowed drug potassium chloride. The day following Glossip's most recent stay, state Corrections
Department Director Robert Patton told reporters the mix-up was with the
provider of the lethal drugs, who failed to tell them about the
change. “The provider believed it was an acceptable substitution," Patton
said. “From my understanding, in that industry, it is an acceptable
alternative for that particular drug.” Citing state law, the state Corrections Department has declined to reveal the name of the drug provider.
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-attorney-general-asks-federal-court-for-further-secrecy-in-lethal-injection-lawsuit/article/5453321/?page=1
