MissouriNet reports, "Supreme Court limits setting execution dates," by Bob Priddy.
The Missouri Supreme Court has decided it will not order more than one execution per month. A court source has told the Missourinet the policy has been enacted at the request of the Department of Corrections, which conducts executions at its prison in Bonne Terre.
The Department of Corrections has refused to explain why it asked the court to establish that practice or to make available any department officials to discuss the issue. A spokesman for Attorney General Chris Koster says he is aware of the policy but will not comment on it. About a year ago, Koster said that delays in setting execution dates threaten the state’s ability to administer capital punishment. He asked the court two years ago to set execution dates for nine inmates. One of them, Herbert Smulls, was executed in January. Another, Michael Worthington, is scheduled to die on August 6.
Executions have been held monthly since last November, except for May, when questions about Russell Bucklew’s physical fitness to be executed produced a court-ordered stay. The next execution scheduled is that of John Middleton next week. Another is set for August 6th.
"Nixon and Obama share dubious legacy: secrecy," is the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial. Here's an extended excerpt from the beginning:
There’s a kind of poetry in the last sentence of a news release giving Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon a dubious national distinction that cements a legacy he never wanted.
Last week, the Investigative Reporters and Editors named Mr. Nixon the winner of the “Golden Padlock” award recognizing the most secretive government agency in the country in 2014. Mr. Nixon shared his award with Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin. She is a Republican. He is a Democrat. Both refuse to honor numerous requests from the press and other organizations asking for details about the drugs the states use to kill men and women on death row.
Here’s the last sentence of that news release dishonoring the two governors:
“IRE invited a representative from the winning agencies to attend and receive the honor. No response was received.”
Of course not. Unresponsiveness has been a touchstone of the administration of of a governor who once fought his predecessor over the failure to release public documents.
“No response was received.”
Missourians have come to expect secrecy from this governor, not just in big things like the death penalty, but in small things as well.
Earlier coverage from Missouri begins at the link.
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