Georgia Judge Finds State’s Lethal Injection Secrecy Law Interferes With Constitutional Rights

On July 18, a Georgia Superior Court judge ruled that the state’s new law shielding the source of lethal injection drugs interfered with Warren Hill’s right to challenge his method of execution and is therefore probably unconstitutional. According to the law, information pertaining to drugs used in executions is classified as “confidential state secrets” and cannot be disclosed. Judge Gail S. Tusan said the law ” “To be executed without being aware of basic information regarding the protocols the State will use to carry out such an execution is surely an irreparable harm.” Moreover, she said neither Warren Hill “nor the general public, has sufficient information with which to measure the safety of the drug that would be used to execute [Hill], as there is insufficient information regarding how it was compounded.” Judge Tusan concluded that the law improperly interfered with the court’s duty to make a judgment about the planned execution: “[the law] explicitly exempts from judicial review the very information that would be necessary for a court to determine the constitutionality of an inmate’s execution.” The court stayed the execution of Hill, who also has a petition before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding his mental retardation.

The state is likely to appeal Judge Tusan’s order to the Georgia Supreme Court. Hill’s death warrant expires on July 20. UPDATE: In May 2014, the Georgia Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision by a vote of 5-2 and upheld the Georgia secrecy law.

(DPIC posted, July 19, 2013; read full text of Judge’s order here). See Lethal Injection.