Texas court rules prisons must disclose source of execution drugs
Source: Reuters
BY JON HERSKOVITZ
AUSTIN, Texas Fri Dec 12, 2014 4:28pm EST
(Reuters) - A Texas court has ordered the state's prison system to reveal the name of the supplier of drugs used in lethal injections, a lawyer for inmates on death row said on Friday, arguing the disclosure is needed for transparency.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said it would appeal the decision. A federal district court ruled in April the prison system needed to reveal the supplier, but the state and the prison system appealed and won a higher court decision allowing them to keep the name secret.
"As we have said before, disclosing the identity of the pharmacy would result in the harassment of the business and would raise serious safety concerns for the business and its employees," the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement.
Issues surrounding the secrecy of lethal injections drugs have increased this year due to troubled executions in states including Oklahoma and Arizona, raising questions on where the drugs are obtained as well as the purity and potency of the chemicals in the lethal injection mixtures.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/12/us-usa-texas-execution-idUSKBN0JQ26H20141212