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A coalition of news organizations, including the Associated Press, is suing Tennessee’s top prison official and a warden, alleging state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit media access and hinder thorough and accurate reporting.
Currently, journalists watching lethal injections do not see the entire process. The coalition argues that the protocols “violate the statutory and constitutional rights of the public and the press to witness the entirety of the execution.” tennessee Department of Corrections, from the time the condemned person enters the execution chamber until the time the condemned person is pronounced dead.
They are seeking a ruling that the protocols are unconstitutional and an injunction to allow the press to watch the full execution process.
“This lack of access has limited the public’s ability to obtain information from independent observers about execution proceedings in Tennessee,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit, filed in Davidson County Chancery Court nashvilleNamed as defendants are Kenneth Nelson, warden of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, where Tennessee’s execution chamber is located, and Frank Strada, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
A department spokesperson said Wednesday that it does not comment on pending litigation. Nelson’s office sent a reporter to the department.
During the execution, media members begin to watch what happens when the condemned man is already tied to a gauntlet and connected to IV lines. They do not know at what exact time the injections start and the people doing the injections are in a separate room.
Protocol states that after syringes of saline and pentobarbital are given, a team leader signals the warden and a five-minute waiting period begins. After that period, the curtains are closed, the camera is turned off and then the doctor arrives to determine whether the person is dead. If this is the case, the warden announces over the intercom system that the sentence has been carried out and the witnesses are instructed to leave.
The lawsuit states that the First Amendment of the U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions guarantee the public the right to witness an entire execution. Tennessee law describes specific categories of witnesses who are entitled to be present at the execution, such as seven members of the news media.
The lawsuit cited the execution of Byron Black in August, during which the curtains in the witness chamber were open for only 10 minutes.
The Nashville Banner’s reporting on Black’s death stated that, according to his attorney, medical personnel were having trouble finding veins in his arms, which had led to a pooling of blood on his right side. The lawyer said that it took 10 minutes just to connect the tubes.
The lawsuit presents the Department of Corrections’ log of Black’s execution. The lawsuit states that the media were only able to watch when the warden ordered the curtains opened and the closed-circuit TV turned on; When the warden asked Black if he had any last comments; completion of the lethal injection procedure; And closing the curtains and deactivating closed circuit TV.
The lawsuit states that “media witnesses did not have access to that stage of the proceedings to report independently, leaving the public without any information from a neutral observer.”
In addition to AP, the media alliance includes Gannett Companies, Inc.; Nashville Public Media, Inc.; Nashville Public Radio; Scripps Media, Inc.; Six Rivers Media, LLC; and Tegna Inc.
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Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattis in Nashville, Tennessee contributed to this report.