JEFFERSON CITY, MO -- The ACLU of Missouri filed a complaint in federal court today challenging the Missouri Department of Corrections' process for selecting witnesses for executions.
Since he applied to witness a Missouri execution in January 2014, investigative journalist Christopher S. McDaniel has yet to receive a response to his application from the Missouri Department of Corrections, effectively denying him the opportunity to witness any of the 17 executions that the state has carried out since he submitted his application.
The request approval is solely at the discretion of the director of the Missouri Department of Corrections.
"The Missouri Department of Corrections has shown a disturbing pattern of behavior that's been keeping the public from knowing about its unsavory and possibly illegal practices related to the death penalty," said Tony Rothert, legal director for ACLU of Missouri. "Execution witnesses are an important check to ensure the department does not abuse its power. That check does not work when the Department can choose to exclude anyone critical of its behavior."
McDaniel’s reporting has exposed disturbing and potentially illegal practices with regard to the death penalty in Missouri.
The ACLU of Missouri submitted a public records request to the Missouri Department of Corrections for copies of applications to witness executions. The department eventually turned over the applications, but only after litigation was required to compel it to comply with state law. Upon review of the applications, it was discovered that every applicant who, like McDaniel, expressed a desire to ensure that executions were carried out properly and constitutionally, was denied the opportunity to witness an execution.
"The ACLU of Missouri protects the constitutional rights of all Missourians," said Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of ACLU of Missouri. "It's unconstitutional for the Missouri Department of Corrections to discriminate against individuals because of their political beliefs, plain and simple."
The ACLU of Missouri has filed six lawsuits against the Missouri Department of Corrections seeking documents regarding the state’s execution protocol and policies. In December 2015, the Circuit Court of Cole County ruled that the department knowingly violated the Sunshine Law by refusing to provide information related to the state’s execution witness selection process.
Today’s lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Read the complaint below.
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