The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 18 in Nashville in an appeal by the State opposing the requests of several death row inmates who are seeking the identity of individuals involved in the lethal injection process.
The appeal arises from a challenge to the constitutionality of the Tennessee Department of Correction’s execution procedures for lethal injection on various grounds by 11 of the state’s death row inmates.
A suit filed in 2013 by five death row inmates sought, among other things, the identities of the physicians, pharmacists, medical examiners, medical personnel, and executioners who are involved in the execution of a death sentence.
The State refused to provide this information, citing the protection of an exception to the Tennessee Open Records Act. The trial court disagreed and ordered the disclosure of the identities subject to an agreement that certain information would not be available to the general public.
The State took the case to the Court of Appeals, which concluded that state law required the disclosure of the information as to the individuals involved in the execution. The State has now appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments Thursday, December 18 at 1 p.m. in Nashville. For more about the case, see the Court of Appeals opinion here.