KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Tennessee officials have been ordered to immediately disclose details on the drug used in the state’s lethal injection protocol after a Knox County judge rejected the state’s appeal to halt or change a previous ruling requiring the records release.
Knox County Chancery Court Chancellor John Weaver on Wednesday ordered the release of the expiration dates for drugs used in the executions of Oscar Smith and Byron Black. The information was requested by attorneys with the Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee (FDSET) ahead of the execution of Harold “Wayne” Nichols, which is scheduled for Dec. 11.
What did Harold Nichols select for his last meal?
Weaver ordered the release of the records earlier this week and the State filed a motion Wednesday morning seeking to block or alter the ruling, arguing that revealing the expiration dates could potentially reveal the identity of the drug supplier and whether the drug was compounded by a third-party pharmacy.
Attorneys for Nichols have accused the State of violating the Public Records Act. A lawsuit filed in October contends that the Tennessee Department of Correction improperly invoked a secrecy statute to block the release of non-confidential records on the State’s execution procedures like drug inventories, expiration dates, and testing results. FDSET attorneys said Wednesday that the State has failed to meet its own deadlines to respond to records requests and issued blanked denial without citing valid exemptions…