execution drugs

11 Dec, 2025

Appeals court may consider judge’s ruling that state wrongfully withheld information on execution drugs

By |2025-12-11T13:57:09-06:00December 11, 2025|Categories: execution drugs, Public Records, public records lawsuits Tennessee, state records|0 Comments

The Tennessee Department of Correction successfully evaded a Knox County judge's order to release by the close of the business day yesterday public records about the expiration date of the drugs set to be used in the upcoming execution of Harold Wayne Nichols. The execution proceeded this morning. However, the Court of Appeals that issued a temporary stay on the judge's order on Wednesday evening has not ruled yet on whether to grant the state's request for an interlocutory appeal of the judge's order or on the judge's finding that the records were being wrongly withheld by the state. Megan Kerrigan with Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee had sought [...]

11 Jan, 2025

Tussle over secrecy of lethal injection protocol shakes loose some records

By |2025-01-11T10:01:35-06:00January 11, 2025|Categories: execution drugs|0 Comments

The Tennessee Department of Correction tried to keep its new execution protocol for lethal injection secret. But after a week of wide news reporting of the state's refusal to release the document, it changed its mind and provided the document with redactions. The tussle shows how secrecy about lethal injection as a method of execution continues to be a problem.

30 Dec, 2022

State should address secretive culture around lethal injection drugs

By |2023-01-02T16:31:45-06:00December 30, 2022|Categories: execution drugs|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment

An independent investigation of the state's secret handling of lethal injection drugs shows it did not follow state protocols for testing the materials. The state should fix this and address the secrecy about lethal injection drugs going forward.

12 Aug, 2014

Appeals Court hears arguments on reach of execution drug secrecy

By |2014-08-12T09:58:01-05:00August 12, 2014|Categories: execution drugs|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

The Tennessean covered the arguments before the Court of Appeals Monday concerning an exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act passed in 2013 that makes the source of execution drugs confidential. Lawyers for death row inmates sought to have the source revealed to them so they could examine whether the source was safe and legal, and whether it would violate inmate rights to be free of cruel and unusual punishment. Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ordered the information released to the lawyers under seal. The state is appealing Bonnyman's ruling. An excerpt from reporter Brian Haas' story: The appeals panel Monday seemed skeptical of Hixson's arguments, pressing him on whether the 2013 law applied [...]

15 May, 2014

Missouri media file lawsuit over secrecy of execution drugs

By |2014-05-15T17:17:36-05:00May 15, 2014|Categories: execution drugs|Tags: , |0 Comments

The issue of secrecy surrounding the source of execution drugs is heating up in the wake of some botched executions. The Associated Press joined other Missouri newspapers in challenging that state's insistence that its laws allow the corrections department to keep the source of the drug secret. Here's a rundown on the litigation in Missouri. TCOG first wrote about the secrecy of execution drugs in December, eight months after the Tennessee Legislature passed a bill to make the source of drugs confidential, along with the already confidential name of the medical personnel involved in the execution. Since then, the secrecy issue has become national. The Tennessee Legislature in the most [...]

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