A media alliance filed a lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections to obtain records pertaining to the state’s use of lethal drugs in executions. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the ACLU of Missouri and a St. Louis radio reporter joined in the suit. (RCFOP, May 15, 2014, press release)
The Associated Press, the Guardian US and three other media outlets challenged the “state secret doctrine” in suing Missouri for information about the way the state obtained execution drugs. Both lawsuits were filed under the state’s public records act. The other media outlets joining in the AP suit are the The Kansas City Star, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Springfield News-Leader. (The New York Times, May 15, 2014, by the Associated Press)
The Guardian/AP suit marks the first time that the first amendment right of access was used in a freedom of information request of information about death penalty operations. (Columbia Journalism Review, May 16, 2014, by Deron Lee)