Cole County, Missouri Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled on March 21 that Missouri must release the names of pharmacies that have provided lethal injection drugs for executions. Judge Beetem ruled in favor of the ACLU of Missouri and several media organizations that had filed three separate suits against the state. The media plaintiffs included the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Kansas City Star, the Springfield News-Leader, Associated Press, The Guardian, and BuzzFeed reporter Chris McDaniel. Judge Beetem found that Missouri had “knowingly violated the sunshine law by refusing to disclose records that would reveal the suppliers of lethal injection drugs, because its refusal was based on an interpretation of Missouri statutes that was clearly contrary to law.” Bernard Rhodes, an attorney for The Guardian, said the information was critical to public oversight: “Without this information, the public is unable to exercise meaningful oversight of the executions carried out in its name. One of the primary purposes of a free and independent press is to perform a watchdog function over government activities, and this lawsuit is a perfect example of that.” Because it determined that Missouri had knowingly violated the law, the court also awarded the plaintiffs more than $100,000 in attorneys fees. In a column for the Los Angeles Times, Scott Martelle called the decision, “a win for transparency,” and said that companies’ reluctance to participate publicly in executions was evidence of society’s changing views. “[C]apital punishment has become so contrary to American societal norms that here in the land of the quick buck, even the business world has turned its back on the practice,” he wrote. The state of Missouri has indicated that it intends to appeal the decision.

(E. Pilkington, “Missouri ordered to reveal pharmacies that supplied its execution drugs,” The Guardian, March 22, 2016; D. Margolies, “Missouri Corrections Department Violated Sunshine Law In Execution Case, Judge Rules,” St. Louis Public Radio, March 22, 2016; S. Martelle, “A win for transparency in Missouri execution cases,” Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2016.) Read the judgment entered in Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press v. Missouri Department of Corrections here. See Lethal Injection.

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