Philly Magazine posts, "3 Reasons We Need to End the Pennsylvania Death Penalty," by Joel Mathis.
First of all, much praise to the Inquirer and City Paper. They’re among the publications joining the ACLU to sue the state to get information on the supplier of Pennsylvania’s lethal injection drugs. Journalism is all about getting information to the public, and sometimes a little extra pressure is needed: It’s good to see that both papers can still find ways to bring that pressure.
It would be better for everybody, though, if the suit weren’t needed.
It would be better for everybody if Pennsylvania didn’t have a death penalty at all.
Let’s skip the moral objections for now, because everybody has a moral stance on the issue — either for or against — and at this point, passionate moral arguments probably aren’t going to move the needle. So let’s talk about good governance. Because the death penalty — in Pennsylvania — and elsewhere, is lousy governance:
AP coverage of the lawsuit by the ACLU of Pennsylvania and media outlets is, "Media seek info on Pa.'s execution drugs," via the Pocono Record.
Four news organizations asked a federal judge in Harrisburg on Thursday to unseal information about where the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections plans to get drugs for use in executing inmates.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia City Paper, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Guardian U.S. filed an emergency motion to intervene in a long-running federal lawsuit that challenges the state's execution procedures.
The newspapers said the Corrections Department has contracted with compounding pharmacies to obtain the drugs, but the court has prevented disclosure of the names of those pharmacies.
The Los Angeles Times posts, "ACLU, others ask Pennsylvania to name makers of death penalty drugs," by James Queally.
The suit also seeks to grant the public access to documents about the suppliers of drugs used in future state executions.
“In light of the recent string of horrifically botched executions, the public is entitled to know how the state obtained the drugs they plan to use to carry out executions here in Pennsylvania,” Reggie Shuford, executive director of the Pennsylvania chapter of the ACLU, said in a statement.
An email sent to the Department of Corrections seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Additional coverage includes:
"Lawsuit seeks source of drugs to be used in Pennsylvania execution," by Daniel Kelley for Reuters.
"News outlets sue to reveal source of Pennsylvania’s lethal injection drugs," by Mark Berman at the Washington Post.
Mother Jones posts, "News Organizations Battle Pennsylvania Over Secret Source of Its Execution Drugs," by Mariah Blake.
"Rights group challenges Pennsylvania's execution protocol," at Al Jazeera America.
"ACLU, The Guardian and Pennsylvania papers file motion to unseal lethal injection records," by Kristen Hare for Poynter Media Wire.
The Filing in Chester v. Wetzel is at the link.
Earlier coverage from Pennsylvania begins at the link. You can also jump to news of the media lawsuit.
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