Little is known about how Indiana acquired pentobarbital, a drug that state officials plan to use to restart executions for the first time in more than a decade. (Getty Images)
The Indiana Capital Chronicle sued the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) last week — a move we as an outlet don’t take lightly. But transparency in the spending of taxpayer dollars is a core belief not just for journalists, but society as a whole.
In this case, we sought the cost of the drug the state acquired to conduct the recent execution of convicted killer Joseph Corcoran. The cost of the pentobarbital shouldn’t be treated any differently than the salary of a judge, the cost of a construction contract, or how much state officials spend on travel.
Citizens deserve to know the basic cost of operations, and the death penalty should not be an exception. In fact, the taking of a person’s life should be held to the highest standards.
How we got here
We sought the cost soon after the state announced it had acquired the drug last June. It had been years since the state could conduct an execution because an intense focus on drug manufacturers and suppliers had made it hard to get the drugs.
That focus led lawmakers to block information about manufacturers and suppliers from public access after a lawsuit was filed. In fact, the state lost that legal battle until it retroactively enacted a law.
That process was distasteful, but the law is the law, and we did not seek the name of the supplier or manufacturer. We asked only for the cost of the drug. That’s it. All the IDOC had to do was provide an invoice with large black boxes redacting other information beside the cost.
But the administration of former Gov. Eric Holcomb refused. It clung to the law, which includes confidentiality for “information reasonably calculated to lead to the identity” of the people or company behind the drugs.
The law specifically mentions examples, such as a name, address or tax identifier. Cost is not included. And frankly, the idea that a dollar figure could “reasonably” be used to find the manufacturer or supplier is a ridiculous stretch.
The irony is that while the Republican administration is fighting this request tooth and nail, other GOP members — including Attorney General Todd Rokita, new Gov. Mike Braun and more — want individual terminated pregnancy reports released as public records.
These abortion records include a lot of personal information about people who receive abortions. In the past they have been released, but redacting identifying information — which is exactly what we want in the execution case.
But when lawmakers banned abortion with few exceptions, the Indiana Department of Health sought advice about whether the reports could be used to identify a woman, especially in smaller counties. Abortions have dropped from thousands a year to just dozens.
Currently, the IDOH puts out an aggregate report every three months but won’t release the individual records. That also led to a lawsuit, which anti-abortion advocates lost. The issue is now being fought at the executive and legislative levels.
So, why do Republicans want abortion records released but not death penalty records?
Changes to the law
In the past, Indiana’s public access counselor could have weighed in and guided the parties in our dispute to a resolution. But lawmakers last year placed new restrictions on the counselor’s interpretations when issuing opinions. Specifically, the counselor now can only use the public access law itself and court rulings to issue opinions.
Because this particular issue has not been decided by a court, the counselor felt he couldn’t make a firm ruling. And that’s why we must go to court.
Thankfully for us, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is handling the case for us. But if I were an average citizen, I would be forced to spend my paycheck to simply find out what my government is up to.
It’s time for everyone to live up to Indiana law, which says “it is the public policy of the state that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and employees.”
And we intend to hold them accountable to that.
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