A new bill prohibiting drug supplier transparency on lethal injection drugs has reached the full Idaho Senate.
A 5-4 vote pushed the bill to the full Senate by the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee, The Associated Press reported March 14.
“If this is an issue we’re going to address, we need to address it now” said Sen. Todd Lakey, committee chairman.
Some suppliers are declining to sell the lethal drugs without first receiving confidentiality provisions written into state law, according to Josh Tewalt, director of the Idaho Department of Correction. The bill would authorize retailer information be concealed, even against potential court orders.
The decision came as the state prepares to execute two Death Row inmates in the near future.
Due to the inability to purchase the chemicals they need for executions, state officials have been known to send workers across state lines to buy the lethal chemicals with cash days before an execution, AP reported.
Retired U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Bush, who presided over cases in which Idaho inmates fought the state’s execution policy, says this bill puts at risk the Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment as well as the First Amendment right that enables the public to speak freely.
