Indiana Judge Orders State to Pay $538,000 in Attorney Fees for Stonewalling Release of Lethal-Injection Records
Citing “egregious” misconduct by state prison officials in trying to evade a court order to produce public records concerning its efforts to obtain lethal-injection drugs, an Indiana judge has directed the state’s Department of Correction to pay more than a half million dollars in plaintiffs’ attorney fees. On June 12, 2019, Marion County Circuit Judge Sheryl Lynch awarded $538,000 in attorney fees to plaintiffs who were seeking public release of records regarding the drugs Indiana intended to use in future executions. The suit began as a public-records request in 2014, but because of the Indiana Department of Correction’s repeated refusal to release the records or comply with court orders, it expanded to include late-night secrecy legislation and multiple court rulings.
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