Bill to Make Executions More Secretive to be Heard by N.C. Senate Committee

July 22, 2015 4:00 pm

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RALEIGH – North Carolina could hide the source of lethal injection drugs used to execute prisoners on death row under a bill being considered by a state Senate committee tomorrow. HB 774 would also remove the requirement that a qualified physician be present at all executions and would instead allow any medical professional to assist in the execution. The bill has already been approved by the House.

“Decisions about life and death should not be made in secret,” said Sarah Preston, acting Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of North Carolina. “If North Carolina is going to continue to sentence people to death, the process must be transparent and accountable to the citizens in whose name this ultimate and irreversible penalty is carried out. As botched executions in Oklahoma and other states have shown, inadequate oversight of these procedures can have horrific consequences.”

WHAT: Senate Judiciary II Committee Hearing on HB 774

WHEN: 10 a.m., Thursday, July 23

WHERE: Room 1124/1224 LB of the North Carolina Legislative Building

Read the ACLU of North Carolina’s fact sheet on the bill here: http://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/files/legislative/HB_774_Opposition_to_Restoring_Proper_Justice.pdf

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