Poor Terry McAuliffe
by digby
According to this article Governor Terry McAuliffe is in an “awkward spot” because even though he ostensibly opposes the death penalty he is backing a bipartisan measure to make the mechanics of the death penalty in his state even more secret so as not to create unpleasantness around the fact that they are torturing the inmates in the course of their executions.
State-sponsored executions in Virginia would become shrouded in unprecedented secrecy under legislation that is advancing with bipartisan support, including that of Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
The measure is intended to keep drugs used for lethal injections flowing into Virginia by shielding manufacturers from public scrutiny and political pressure.
Foreign companies have stopped selling such drugs as a result of pressure from their governments, leaving some states unable to carry out death sentences and prompting others to experiment with chemicals that have been blamed for several high-profile botched executions.
The legislation would prevent the public from scrutinizing most everything to do with the death penalty in Virginia. The bill states that “all information relating to the execution process” would be exempt from the state’s open records law. Although the names and quantities of chemicals used would have to be disclosed, the names of the companies that sell them and information about buildings and equipment used in the process would be withheld.
Adding a political twist to the situation, the bill’s chief booster is McAuliffe, a Democrat who opposes the death penalty but whose support makes passage more likely.
The measure would place Virginia in the vanguard of states trying to continue a practice that most of their residents still support but that has become increasingly difficult to administer, for both political and technical reasons. The proposal has been praised by people who say it would ensure that executions are carried out in the most humane way possible. But it is denounced by death penalty opponents, as botched executions have increased scrutiny across the country, including a Supreme Court review of lethal injections in Oklahoma.
The secrecy provisions, in particular, are a matter of disagreement. Lisa Kinney, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said the law would provide “security” by shielding drug providers from “harassment, threats or danger.” Foes contend that more scrutiny of state-sponsored executions, not less, is the way to prevent inhumane deaths.
“This bill is about them trying to hide challenges to them, not about their security,” said defense attorney Jonathan Sheldon, who has been involved in litigation over lethal injection. “We don’t need to know the name of who the [executioner] is. . . . What we really want to know is: ‘What is the procedure?’ They’re cloaking this in a false mask of security.”
McAuliffe’s spokesman said that he’s a Catholic so there’s “a moral dimension” to his concerns but he will follow the law.
Here he has an opportunity to help capital punishment opponents to put a stop to this barbaric practice but he’s going to help the opposition.
This is what passes for moral leadership among the big money Democratic centrists who covet office at any price.
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