Idaho judge: Lethal injection drug source is secret for now

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho judge has modified a previous decision, and now says state prison officials can hold off on identifying where they obtain the drugs used in executions until a trial is held on the matter. Fourth District Judge Lynn Norton ruled in May that the state had to turn over nearly all of its execution records, including those identifying the source of the execution drugs, to a University of Idaho professor who sued for access to the documents under the Idaho Public Records Act. Nevada officials had tried to keep the drug companies identities’ secret, but a court order in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit in July forced the state to reveal the company names. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced in 2016 that it would not provide lethal injection drugs to states, and last year the company asked states to return any previously obtained lethal injection drugs. University of Idaho Professor Aliza Cover filed a public records request with the Idaho Department of Correction last year seeking purchase orders, receipts, source paperwork and other documents on the drugs the state used in its two most recent executions, along with any documents on the drugs it expects to use in future executions.