That would be the state's Administrative Procedures Act. The ruling is here.
"High court rules regulation needed for lethal injection," is the title of Tom Loftus' report for the Louisville Courier-Journal.
In a ruling that will indefinitely delay executions in Kentucky, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the procedure for putting an inmate to death by lethal injection must be spelled out in a state regulation.
The high court ruled that in certain instances — including the protocol for the death penalty — procedures adopted by a state agency in implementing a new law must be adopted as a regulation.
“This court cannot ignore the publication and public hearing requirements set forth in Kentucky statutes,” the majority opinion said.
It directed the Department of Corrections “to adopt as an administrative regulation all portions of the protocol implementing the lethal injection statute. ...”
Ed Monahan, the state’s public advocate, released a statement later Wednesday that said the ruling was another reason why his office believes it was inappropriate for Attorney General Jack Conway to ask Gov. Steve Beshear earlier this week to sign execution warrants for three death row inmates.
And:
The process of establishing an administrative regulation begins with an agency writing and proposing the regulation.
The public is given time to comment, and ultimately the proposal goes before the legislature's Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee, which either adopts or rejects it.
The Lexington Herald-Leader has, "Court: No executions until death penalty process changed," by Jack Brammer.
Kentucky may not execute anyone until it adopts regulations in compliance with the law, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court ruling came in the case of three Death Row inmates -- Thomas C. Bowling, Ralph Baze and Brian Keith Moore -- who were challenging the state's lethal injection protocol.
And:
In its 35-page ruling, the court said the state Department of Corrections must follow state-mandated administrative procedures before adopting the current lethal injection process of a three-drug cocktail.
It also said the state should have held public hearings on the process.
The Department of Corrections is required by Kentucky law to promulgate a regulation as to all portions of the lethal injection protocol except those limited issues of internal management that are purely of concern to department personnel, the high court said.
It identified "limited issues of internal management" as identities of the execution team, storage location of the drugs and other security-related issues.
The AP report, "Ky. court says state must readopt lethal injection," is by Brett Barrouquere, via Forbes.
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state improperly adopted the same three-drug lethal injection protocol that was upheld in the nation's highest court and is used by dozens of other states.
The ruling does not challenge the technique of using three drugs to put inmates to death. It only says the state did not follow proper administrative procedures, including public hearings, before putting it in place.
It came just days after state Attorney General Jack Conway requested execution dates for three condemned inmates, one of whom, Ralph Baze, was a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
And:
Justice Lisabeth Hughes Abramson write in a 5-2 decision that state must comply with the Administrative Procedures Act and post public notices and hold hearings before adopting an execution protocol.
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