OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s Attorney General is asking a federal judge for “more secrecy” surrounding Oklahoma executions.
In a filing Tuesday, Scott Pruitt asked the court if he could disclose information in a lethal injection lawsuit only to the judge, and not share that information with attorneys for death row inmates.
This is related to the investigation into a drug mix-up that forced the governor to issue a last-minute stay of execution for Richard Glossip.
Pruitt is representing the Oklahoma Corrections Department in the lawsuit.
The filing from the defendants states that the AG wants “to submit an ex parte motion motion for relief under seal…” Ex parte meaning “done by, for, or on the application of one party alone.”
While a spokesman for Pruitt declined to further explain the filing, he did say that making all the case information public would defeat the purpose of having ‘undisclosed discussions’ with the judge.
A second filing of the plaintiff’s response says, “It is unclear from the motion what relief Defendants are seeking, and Defendants have failed to demonstrate why an ex parte filing is necessary.”
Nevertheless, the file was ordered on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Oklahoma law already protects the identities of state and private employees who participate in executions. The names of everyone – from the physician and officers in the execution chamber to the provider of the lethal drugs – is a state secret.
