By David A. DazLegislative Media
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas The publics right to know about how executions take place in Texas including current controversial secret information regarding the lethal drugs used to administer the death sentence would be dramatically strengthened under legislation filed on Friday February 20 by Rep. Terry Canales D-Edinburg.
House Bill 1587 by Canales would require the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide details about the names of the drugs used in the lethal injections along with the identity of their manufacturers the expiration dates of the deadly concoction the results of laboratory tests performed on those ingredients and pertinent information relating to the toxic substance.
In Texas we do not give the bureaucrats the absolute authority to decide what the public can and cannot know about what their government is doing said Canales. When it comes to the death penalty Texans will not allow state government to keep secrets about this drug which wields the power of life and death.
His support of disclosing such details in the name of open government has drawn strong support from Kelley Shannon Executive Director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
The people of Texas need information to scrutinize their government and hold it accountable said Shannon who helps lead the non-profit 301(c)(3) organization which is devoted to promoting open government freedom of speech and freedom of press. With the death penalty we are talking about the ultimate punishment for a crime. The people have the right to know how their state is carrying out punishment by lethal injection.
Canales called on Gov. Greg Abbott who has previously ruled as Texas Attorney General that such information should be public to lend his support to the bipartisan proposed legislation.
As Attorney General Abbott on three occasions between 2010 and 2012 indicated that information identifying the manufacturer of supplier of lethal injection drugs is public information and the state should release it upon request according to The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
These three attorney general opinions specifically rejected assertions that the state could withhold the information under exemptions for physical safety and highly intimate and embarrassing information wrote Michael Rooney in his cover story entitled Lethal Secrecy published by the organization in the Spring of 2014.
Abbotts decisions also rejected the states claim that because the communications were between government lawyers disclosure should be blocked on attorney-client privilege grounds Rooney reported.
According to Lethal Secrecy Abbott had rejected claims by the Texas Department of Corrections that such information was not available to the public.
As you have failed to demonstrate the information meets the . . . test for privacy we find the drug quantities expiration dates last dates of purchase and supplier names at issue are not confidential under common-law privacy and the department may not withhold this information the attorney generals office found in a 2010 decision compelling disclosure and rejecting the argument that drug and supplier information did not qualify as highly embarrassing information Rooneys news analysis found (See more at:
http://www.rcfp.org/browse-media-law-resources/news-media-law/news-media-and-law-spring-2014/lethal-secrecy#sthash.4WuyBUMa.dpuf).
Canales said he was thus surprised and disappointed that Abbott reversed himself in 2014.
Unlike some states Texas law doesnt specifically say whether prison officials must disclose where they get their lethal injection drugs the state representative said. I believe it has always been the Legislatures intent for our government to be as transparent as possible and that my legislation will find widespread support at the Capitol.
With or without the Texas governors support the issue of lethal injections will not go away he said.
On January 23 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will review later this year the drug protocol increasingly used across the country to determine whether the use of lethal injections under certain circumstances constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
The U.S. Supreme Courts upcoming case will deal with the very important American protection against cruel and unusual punishment which is a very complicated issue Canales said. House Bill 1587 deals with the peoples right to know where Texas taxes are being spent to buy lethal drugs to use in executions. I will always fight for the peoples right to know about what their government is doing in their name.
Highlights of HB 1587 as filed by Canales would require that no later than 45 days before the date an execution is scheduled to occur the director of the correctional institution division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall post on the departments Internet website the following information regarding each substance to be used in the execution:
- The name of the substance;
- The manufacturer of the substance;
- The expiration date of the substance;
- The results of any laboratory tests performed on such substance;
- The quantity of the substance; and
- Any other information in the departments possession regarding the substance.
If the information is not available for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to post no later than 45 days before the date an execution is scheduled to occur TDCJ shall make that information available as soon as that information is available but no later than 14 days before the date of the execution is scheduled to occur.
Rep. Terry Canales D-Edinburg represents House District 40 in Hidalgo County. HD 4o includes portions or all of Edinburg Elsa Faysville La Blanca Linn Lpezville McAllen Pharr San Carlos and Weslaco.
