Prison department updates execution secrecy rules

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho prison officials have changed their administrative rules to ensure secrecy surrounding the source of the state’s lethal injection drugs. Like previous versions, the rule updated earlier this year forbids the Idaho Department of Correction from disclosing “under any circumstance” information that department director Josh Tewalt determines could jeopardize the department’s ability to carry out an execution. Idaho Department of Correction spokesman Jeff Ray said the rule was adopted during a public meeting and doesn’t exempt any new information or make substantive changes to current procedure. The state Public Records Act itself doesn’t specifically exempt the source of lethal injection drugs from being released, but does give the Board of Correction the authority to set the administrative rules regarding executions.