JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court won't review a lower court ruling that spares the state's prison system from having to reveal where it gets drugs used in executions.
Missouri's high court didn't comment Tuesday in rejecting a request to review the case from the American Civil Liberties Union, the nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and other plaintiffs.
They say the state's source of execution drugs should be disclosed under open-records laws. The Missouri Department of Corrections has refused to divulge where it gets pentobarbital, a powerful barbiturate.
The Missouri Court of Appeals ruled in February that any disclosure of the identities of "individuals essential to the execution process" could hinder the state's ability to execute prisoners.
An attorney for the media groups says more appeals are planned.