AP, news groups sue Idaho over execution access

Topics: From the Wires,

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Associated Press and 16 other organizations are suing the state of Idaho to force officials to allow media witnesses to view executions in their entirety.

The lawsuit, filed in Boise’s U.S. District Court on Tuesday, asks a federal judge to require the state to increase witness access before the scheduled execution of convicted killer Richard A. Leavitt on June 12.

The AP is joined in the lawsuit by the Idaho Press Club, Idahoans for Openness in Government and newspapers across the state.

Currently Idaho only allows witnesses to watch executions after the IVs have been inserted into the arms of the condemned. A San Francisco-based federal appeals court ruled in 2002 that limiting witness access to executions violates the First Amendment and limits public discourse.

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