JACKSON — Attorney General Jim Hood is asking a Hinds County judge to keep secret the identity of Mississippi’s execution drug supplier while the state appeals an order to release the name.
Hinds County Chancery Judge Denise Owens ruled earlier this month that the state’s public records law requires officials to release the information, sought by death-penalty opponents at the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center.
In papers filed last week, Hood’s office said the Mississippi Department of Corrections, or MDOC, should be able to continue concealing the name; releasing it now “would render MDOC’s right of appeal futile and meaningless, and result in irreparable injury to MDOC and the state,” Hood wrote.
Owens has yet to rule on the request.
At issue is the identity of the pharmacy providing pentobarbital, a barbiturate used to render prisoners unconscious before they are injected with a paralytic agent and a heart-stopping drug.
In 2012, the state bought pentobarbital from a compounding pharmacy in Grenada, called Brister Brothers, which mixed the drug. After the MacArthur Center discovered the name following an earlier records request, state lawyers said the pharmacy refused to make further sales and that the drugmaker cut off its supply to Brister Brothers.
State lawyers said it was important to preserve the ability to buy the drug. Nationwide, concerns have been raised about botched executions because of novel drug combinations, as older sets of drugs become unavailable. Hood had asked state lawmakers to pass a bill cloaking many aspects of Mississippi executions in secrecy, a move other states also are taking. However, the Mississippi bill was killed earlier this legislative session.
The state suggested that any stay should cover release of the same information held by any other state agency. MacArthur Center lawyer Jim Craig wrote that he “adamantly” opposes any such extension, noting other agencies could have intervened in the case, but did not.
Hood’s office also argued that the plaintiffs have “no urgent need” for the information because no executions are currently scheduled in Mississippi. He noted the state’s supply of pentobarbital will expire on May 20, unless a new supplier is found.
The justice center argues the state has produced little evidence that it has a chance to win on appeal, and that the center’s rights are being violated by Mississippi’s defiance of its public records law.
“Defendant has now denied access to the requested records for well over three months, and thereby continues to frustrate the disclosure of public information guaranteed by this state’s Public Records Act,” wrote lawyer Jim Craig.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 25 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.