It looks like there still is some common sense in the Idaho Legislature, after all.
The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee last week wisely came to its senses and decided not to grant a hearing to a bill from the Idaho Department of Correction that would have prohibited the department from turning over execution records when requested to do so by subpoena or other preliminary legal inquiries. The bill also would have exempted from the Idaho Public Records Act the source of the chemicals used to carry out executions.
Simply put, it would have made it harder for you, the Idaho citizen, to be as informed about a lethal injection execution as possible.
In what way can this possibly be considered to be in the public interest?
Whether intentional or not, the legislation was worded in a very clever way designed to help garner support. The bill — SB 1005 — says that “the identities of individuals participating in or assisting with an execution, including the onsite physician, department of correction staff, consultants, members of the escort team and medical team, and any information where the disclosure of such information could jeopardize the department’s ability to carry out an execution, including the source of any lethal substances, shall be confidential.”
Notice how that verbiage leads with something most reasonable people would agree with — that the people who carry out executions are just doing their jobs and should be free from potential harassment and intimidation — and then, at the very end, slips in the provision that, oh, and by the way, the source of the chemicals should be confidential, too.
Move along folks; nothing to see here.
Capital punishment is an emotional, controversial issue. In order for you, the voters, to reach a conclusion on whether you support such a grave criminal consequence — the taking of a human life — you need to have access to as much information as possible. It’s profoundly disappointing that the Idaho Department of Correction not only tried to have this bill passed but has consistently denied public records requests from the news media for documents related to the procurement of the drugs used to carry out executions.
Overall, Idaho is known as a state with good rules of government transparency. Such is not the case with this issue.
This bill was roundly ripped by both sides of the political spectrum, taking heat from the liberal American Civil Liberties Union and the conservative Idaho Freedom Foundation. In a polarized age where you seldom see the right and left agree on much of anything, lawmakers were wise to keep SB 1005 on the shelf, and the Department of Correction should take heed and wise up.
— Phil Bridges
Our editorial board: Our editorials are based on the majority opinions of our editorial board. Not all opinions are unanimous. Members of the board are Publisher Matt Davison, Opinion Editor Phil Bridges and community members Marie Baker, Autumn Short, Bruce Krosch, Richard Maffei and Scott Hogan. Editor Scott McIntosh is a nonvoting member.
