Idaho Bill Would Make Executions More Secret

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho lawmakers have introduced a bill that would formally expand the secrecy surrounding executions.

The Senate Judiciary and Rules committee agreed Wednesday to move forward the legislation from the Idaho Department of Correction. The bill would incorporate existing department policy on confidential execution records into state law, and broaden that language to include records involving the source of lethal medications used for executions.

It would also make it illegal for the department to turn over the records in response to subpoenas or other preliminary legal inquiries. Deputy prisons chief Josh Tewalt said the bill was designed to ensure that the identities of both the people involved in carrying out an execution and the source of the drugs used in the lethal injection process are kept confidential.