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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

News groups file lawsuit against Idaho

Suit says media has right to watch execution steps

Associated Press

BOISE – The Associated Press, The Spokesman-Review and 15 other organizations sued the state of Idaho on Tuesday to force officials to let witnesses watch executions from start to finish, arguing that the media has a First Amendment right to view all steps of a lethal injection execution.

The group asked a U.S. District Court judge to require the state to increase witness access to its executions, starting with the upcoming execution of Richard A. Leavitt, a convicted killer scheduled to be put to death on June 12.

Idaho, like most states with lethal injection, bars witnesses from watching as a condemned inmate is brought into the execution chamber, strapped to the table and has IVs inserted into his or her arms. The news organizations say reporters must be able to view executions from start to finish so they can accurately report the events – and any complications that may emerge – to the public.

Some death row inmates have file court challenges over the constitutionality of lethal injection executions, contending that the insertion of the IVs can be easily botched, causing severe pain for the condemned.

“This lawsuit is really all about obtaining access to the entire execution process for viewing purposes. It’s very important in a society such as ours to have full transparency in regards to the exercise of government authority,” said Chuck Brown, the attorney representing the news organizations.

The states that grant access to part of the death penalty process say they do so to protect the anonymity of the execution team. Idaho Department of Correction spokesman Jeff Ray said the department had not had a chance to review the lawsuit, and that the state’s attorneys would respond to the claims in court.

The lawsuit relies heavily on a 2002 San Francisco-based federal appeals court ruling that found that witnesses should be allowed to view executions from the moment the condemned enters the death chamber until their final heartbeat.

Since the ruling, only one state under the court’s nine-state jurisdiction is following it: California, where the case arose. Idaho, Arizona, Washington, Montana and Nevada have all barred witnesses from the first half of lethal injection executions.

Most states nationwide do the same. Of the 27 states that have lethal injection outside of the circuit’s jurisdiction, only Ohio and Georgia allow witnesses to see the entire process.

The organizations decided to sue after Idaho officials limited access to the execution of Paul Ezra Rhoades. Put to death in November, Rhoades was the first person to be executed in the state in 17 years and only the second in the past half-century. Media interest in the event was intense, and the department selected four journalists to view the proceedings.

But none of the witnesses was allowed to watch as Rhoades entered the death chamber, was strapped to the execution table and had IVs inserted in his arms.