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| Missouri ordered to reveal pharmacies that supplied its execution drugs | Missouri ordered to reveal pharmacies that supplied its execution drugs |
| (5 months later) | |
| The Missouri department of corrections has been ordered to release the names of the two pharmacies from which it bought lethal drugs used in executions, dealing a significant blow to the shroud of secrecy that has been thrown around the death penalty in the state and beyond. | The Missouri department of corrections has been ordered to release the names of the two pharmacies from which it bought lethal drugs used in executions, dealing a significant blow to the shroud of secrecy that has been thrown around the death penalty in the state and beyond. |
| The final judgment of the circuit court of Cole County heavily criticises the Missouri prisons service for knowingly violating its duty to inform the public about the way it conducts the death penalty. | The final judgment of the circuit court of Cole County heavily criticises the Missouri prisons service for knowingly violating its duty to inform the public about the way it conducts the death penalty. |
| The judge ruled that the pharmacies involved could not be counted as part of the execution team, and thus offered protection from identification, and that as a result the state had to divulge the details of how it obtained pentobarbital for use in the death chamber. | The judge ruled that the pharmacies involved could not be counted as part of the execution team, and thus offered protection from identification, and that as a result the state had to divulge the details of how it obtained pentobarbital for use in the death chamber. |
| For the past two years a group of media outlets led by the Guardian has argued in the Missouri courts that under the state’s own freedom of information or “sunshine” laws, the department of corrections was obliged to disclose the source of its lethal injection drugs. | For the past two years a group of media outlets led by the Guardian has argued in the Missouri courts that under the state’s own freedom of information or “sunshine” laws, the department of corrections was obliged to disclose the source of its lethal injection drugs. |
| The Guardian, joined by the Associated Press and three prominent local news organizations – the Kansas City Star, the St Louis Post-Dispatch and the Springfield News-Leader – held that it was in the public interest that citizens were aware of how the ultimate punishment was being wielded in their name. | The Guardian, joined by the Associated Press and three prominent local news organizations – the Kansas City Star, the St Louis Post-Dispatch and the Springfield News-Leader – held that it was in the public interest that citizens were aware of how the ultimate punishment was being wielded in their name. |
| Judge Jon Beetem excoriated the department of corrections for refusing to hand over to the media plaintiffs key documents that identified the pharmacists involved. | Judge Jon Beetem excoriated the department of corrections for refusing to hand over to the media plaintiffs key documents that identified the pharmacists involved. |
| The judge ruled that the DOC had “knowingly violated the sunshine law by refusing to disclose records that would reveal the suppliers of lethal injection drugs, because its refusal was based on an interpretation of Missouri statutes that was clearly contrary to law”. | The judge ruled that the DOC had “knowingly violated the sunshine law by refusing to disclose records that would reveal the suppliers of lethal injection drugs, because its refusal was based on an interpretation of Missouri statutes that was clearly contrary to law”. |
| Beetem ordered the prisons service to pay the plaintiffs $73,335 in legal costs. He also ordered the state to hand over all relevant documents, though he stayed that requirement pending appeal. Missouri has indicated that it will do so. | Beetem ordered the prisons service to pay the plaintiffs $73,335 in legal costs. He also ordered the state to hand over all relevant documents, though he stayed that requirement pending appeal. Missouri has indicated that it will do so. |
| The Guardian was represented in the legal action by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School, along with Bernard Rhodes of Lathrop & Gage LLP in Kansas City, Missouri. | The Guardian was represented in the legal action by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School, along with Bernard Rhodes of Lathrop & Gage LLP in Kansas City, Missouri. |
| “Without this information, the public is unable to exercise meaningful oversight of the executions carried out in its name,” Rhodes said. “One of the primary purposes of a free and independent press is to perform a watchdog function over government activities, and this lawsuit is a perfect example of that.” | “Without this information, the public is unable to exercise meaningful oversight of the executions carried out in its name,” Rhodes said. “One of the primary purposes of a free and independent press is to perform a watchdog function over government activities, and this lawsuit is a perfect example of that.” |
| In recent times, Missouri has been one of the most aggressive death penalty states in terms of its determination to carry out executions. Last year it put to death six prisoners, behind only Texas which judicially killed 13. | In recent times, Missouri has been one of the most aggressive death penalty states in terms of its determination to carry out executions. Last year it put to death six prisoners, behind only Texas which judicially killed 13. |
| Since the Guardian’s litigation was first lodged, 13 inmates have been put to death by Missouri – going to their deaths without them or the public having any idea of where the drugs used to kill them came from, nor of their quality. | Since the Guardian’s litigation was first lodged, 13 inmates have been put to death by Missouri – going to their deaths without them or the public having any idea of where the drugs used to kill them came from, nor of their quality. |
| All that was known was that the pentobarbital probably originated a compounding pharmacy, an outlet that makes up small batches of the drug to order, normally for cosmetic purposes. | All that was known was that the pentobarbital probably originated a compounding pharmacy, an outlet that makes up small batches of the drug to order, normally for cosmetic purposes. |
| Along with most other active death penalty states, Missouri has increasingly wrapped itself in secrecy in an attempt to get around a powerful European-led boycott that has blocked trade in lethal injection drugs to US prison departments on ethical grounds. | Along with most other active death penalty states, Missouri has increasingly wrapped itself in secrecy in an attempt to get around a powerful European-led boycott that has blocked trade in lethal injection drugs to US prison departments on ethical grounds. |
| In order to circumvent the stranglehold, states have taken to hiding the identity of pharmacists and medical laboratories involved in selling and testing the drugs for use in executions. | In order to circumvent the stranglehold, states have taken to hiding the identity of pharmacists and medical laboratories involved in selling and testing the drugs for use in executions. |
| As the boycott tightened, death penalty states turned to ever more extreme – and in some cases bizarre – supply routes. Last year, BuzzFeed tracked down one such illegal supply line to an office complex in Kolkata, India. | As the boycott tightened, death penalty states turned to ever more extreme – and in some cases bizarre – supply routes. Last year, BuzzFeed tracked down one such illegal supply line to an office complex in Kolkata, India. |
| The danger of carrying out the death penalty while withholding from the public the nature and the source of the drugs used was underlined by a succession of botched executions in which gruesome scenes were witnessed on the gurney. | The danger of carrying out the death penalty while withholding from the public the nature and the source of the drugs used was underlined by a succession of botched executions in which gruesome scenes were witnessed on the gurney. |
| They included the execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma in April 2014, in which the prisoner took 43 minutes to die, apparently in great pain, from an untested cocktail of drugs whose source was not made public. | They included the execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma in April 2014, in which the prisoner took 43 minutes to die, apparently in great pain, from an untested cocktail of drugs whose source was not made public. |
| Ben Picozzi, a law student intern at Yale’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, said the lawsuit went to the heart of the issue of public oversight. | Ben Picozzi, a law student intern at Yale’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, said the lawsuit went to the heart of the issue of public oversight. |
| “Hopefully this will serve as a deterrent to the department and other government bodies from committing similar violations in the future,” he said. | “Hopefully this will serve as a deterrent to the department and other government bodies from committing similar violations in the future,” he said. |