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Prison boss: Make La. execution drug suppliers secret

Legislation that would block the public, criminal lawyers, state courts and other investigative bodies from finding out who supplies Louisiana with lethal injection drugs

By Julia O’Donoghue
The Times-Picayune

NEW ORLEANS — Legislation that would block the public, criminal lawyers, state courts and other investigative bodies from finding out who supplies Louisiana with the drugs used to administer the death penalty came one step closer to becoming law Tuesday (May 13). The bill has been moved to the full state House of Representatives for a vote.

The bill, should it become law, would keep all identifying information of people who perform state executions and those who supply the drugs that kill death row inmates confidential. Defense lawyers are currently challenging Louisiana in court over the state’s refusal to disclose the origins of the drug cocktail it intends to use in lethal injections.

Lawyers representing convicted killers facing the death penalty say they need to know the provider of the drugs to ensure that their clients won’t face cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.

But the secrecy is necessary to ensure Louisiana can purchase the execution drugs, said Department of Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc. Many companies are not interested in becoming infamous for providing execution drugs and have cut off access to their products. In other cases, European providers have refused to sell their drugs to certain suppliers, after discovering they were being used to put people to death.

Full story: Make Louisiana execution drug suppliers secret, state prison boss asks Legislature

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