Idaho committee kills bill expanding execution drug secrecy

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A bill that would have increased the secrecy surrounding Idaho’s execution drug suppliers died in a Senate committee hearing Wednesday on a tie vote.

The legislation would have barred Idaho officials from releasing where they obtain the drugs used in lethal injections, but it drew heavy opposition from criminal defense attorneys, a retired federal judge and various organizations who all argued that capital punishment requires more transparency, not less.

Proponents said it was necessary because drug suppliers won't sell lethal injection drugs to Idaho without confidentiality.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-4 on whether to advance the bill, which means the legislation automatically fails.