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| Oklahoma attorney general's office argues media has no right to view executions |
| By newsok.com- Graham Lee Brewer |
| Published: 09/17/2014 |
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Media witnesses to executions do not play an important or positive role worthy of certain First Amendment protections, according to a state response to a federal lawsuit. In a response filed Tuesday to a lawsuit attempting to bar the state from closing the blinds on an execution, Assistant Attorney General M. Daniel Weitman argued the media has no right to view executions from beginning to end and reporting doesn’t adequately address whether or not they are cruel or unusual punishment. “Contrary to Plaintiffs’ claims that their reporting serves as the bulwark to preserve the integrity of the Eighth Amendment, case law reveals that courts view such eyewitness testimony as speculative, equivocal, and generally unhelpful with regards to whether an inmate suffers from the execution,” Weitman wrote. “The general lack of utility of the salacious details of an execution shows that press presence does not play a particularly positive role worthy of a First Amendment right of special access.” Read More. |
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