Oklahoma sued over secrecy of botched Inhumane execution of Black Man

From [HERE] A decision by state authorities in Oklahoma to keep the botched execution hidden behind a curtain from press and public observers is being legally challenged, with a leading legal rights group joining media outlets in charging that prison officials acted unconstitutionally.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced the lawsuit Monday in a bid to prevent the state from concealing future executions from reporters and the public.

The suit — in which the Guardian newspaper and the Oklahoma Observer also feature as plaintiffs — comes at a time of increased scrutiny over the administration of lethal injections.

Amid a growing scarcity of ingredients for the lethal drug cocktail, death penalty states are increasingly attempting to hide information pertaining to executions, including the types of drugs used and where they were brought. That secrecy, experts say, can lead to executions going horribly wrong.

“Both death penalty supporters and opponents should be able to agree that the most extreme use of state power should absolutely not occur in the shadows,” ACLU attorney Lee Rowland said in a statement. “It isn't transparency when the government shines a light only on the things it wants us to see.”

The ACLU suit relates to the April 29 execution of Clayton Lockett, who was sentenced to death for shooting a teenager in 1999. Lockett’s execution was surrounded with controversy from the beginning, as the state scrambled to find a pharmacy with the drugs needed for an execution. The state would not reveal where it ultimately got its drugs.

Lockett’s execution took 40 minutes, and witnesses said that he could be seen grimacing in pain, clenching his teeth, and twitching. Right after Lockett began writhing on his gurney, the ACLU contends that prison officials closed the curtain on the window separating the media from the execution room. The length of the execution led to a six-month moratorium on executions in the state. The White House said that the procedure “fell short” of humane standards.

“We now know that Lockett died ... long after the media's access was shut down by the state,” Rowland said. “As to what happened in those fateful 25 minutes, we have only the words of state officials.”

The First Amendment-based lawsuit was filed with the U.S. District Court in Western Oklahoma.