Pa. refuses to reveal source of execution drugs

(Harrisburg) — Most stateshave refused to reveal where they obtains drugs used in executions, especially as suppliers have dwindled, andPennsylvania is no different.

Earlier this year, Richard Poplawski, who has been sentenced to death, filed a Right to Know request seeking information on the drugs the state uses for executions and where it gets the drugs.

Poplawski was convicted of killing three Pittsburgh police officers in 2011.

The state Department of Corrections says the drug names are public, but it’s refusing to disclose where the drugs came from, citing US Supreme Court decisions.

“It’s as simple as initiating the conversation, and asking ‘Can I know this, is this public information?’ And the answer to that question is yes, this was public information,”says spokeswoman Sue Bensinger.

“This Right to Know request was a moot point.”

The commonwealth’s Office of Open Records agrees that the drug source should remain private.

“The person manufacturing or providing, has concern, that the community would not embrace the fact that their using drugs for an execution to end someone’s life,” says Bensinger.

Bensinger says the state does not have the drugs in its possession now, because of their limited shelf life.

The next execution scheduled in Pennsylvania is June 18th, but a court is expected to delay it, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The last execution in the state was held in 1999.

A group of news organizations has filed a lawsuit in Missouri demanding the release of such information, citing the First Amendment right of access.