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| Virginia execution manuals can be kept secret, Supreme Court rules |
| By dailyprogress.com- Graham Moomaw |
| Published: 09/18/2015 |
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The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled that the state is not required to release the manuals used in the execution of prisoners, an opinion that gives governments' tighter control over security-related information while raising alarms among open-government advocates who fear it could have broader ramifications. In a majority opinion written by Justice Cleo E. Powell, the court found that the Department of Corrections is not required to release redacted versions of current and prior execution manuals because the documents are covered by a public-safety exemption that allows records such as architectural drawings and operations manuals to be kept confidential for security reasons. Because the language of that exemption does not explicitly require any non-exempt portions of the manual to be released, the court ruled, the state can keep the entire manual secret. "The wording of the statute applies the exclusion to the entire drawing, manual, minutes or record and makes it disclosable only at the discretion of the custodian," Powell wrote. Del. Scott A. Surovell, D-Fairfax, who brought the case, submitted a FOIA request for the material last year amid debate over how the state carries out the death penalty. Surovell, who said he filed the request because he felt the legislature wasn't being given complete information about lethal injections and drug stockpiles, called the court's ruling "disappointing." Read More. |
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