Arizona's death row inmates don't have the right to know more about the execution drugs that will be used to kill them or the people who will administer the drugs, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit comes months after Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked Gov. Doug Ducey to help the state acquire the drugs needed to resume executions.

The last time Arizona executed an inmate was in 2014. Joseph Rudolph Wood was left snorting and gasping for nearly two hours before he died due to problems with the cocktail of execution drugs used.

Currently, there are 116 inmates on death row in Arizona.

According to court records, six inmates and the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona filed a lawsuit against Arizona Department of Corrections officials after Wood's death, arguing that they have a right to information concerning the drugs and the qualifications of the staff involved in their executions.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled the inmates do not have the right under the First Amendment to have access to the information and that the First Amendment can't be used for inmates to "discover grievances."

As part of the same ruling, the court also ruled that the public has the right to hear sounds of the execution.Typically, the media and some witnesses have been permitted to view the execution through glass, but no sound has been piped into the witness room.

Asking for information from Department of Corrections

The Arizona Department of Corrections discloses certain information on the chemical composition, dosages, and administration of the drugs. According to court records, the procedures require the Department to make sure the drugs are stored correctly and not expired.

Inmates requested information on the drug manufacturers, sellers, lot numbers, National Drug Codes and expiration dates, according to court records.

The inmates also argued that it is a violation of their rights for the state to not provide information on the qualifications of the staff who will be inserting intravenous lines into them during the execution. Staff must be "certified or licensed" in the United States to do so and can be a physician, physician assistant, nurse, emergency medical technician, paramedic, military corpsman or any other personnel, according to state procedures.

The inmates requested more specific information, alleging "an amateur with an online certificate would be authorized to insert the intravenous lines," court records stated.

The court stated in its ruling that the requested information is "simply information in the government's possession that would enhance the understanding of executions." Therefore, the First Amendment does not force the government to provide this type of information.

'Arizona's checkered past with executions'

According to the ruling, U.S. Supreme Court precedent states that the First Amendment does not require state public records' laws to force governments to release all information.

But the appeals court judges agreed it was concerning that Arizona was choosing not to disclose the information.

"Given Arizona’s checkered past with executions, we are troubled by the lack of detailed information regarding execution drugs and personnel," the court statedin the ruling. "Such information would undoubtedly aid the public and death-row inmates in monitoring the constitutionality of Arizona’s execution proceedings."

Judge Marsha Berzon, in a partial dissent, described "Arizona’s troubling history of deviating from its own lethal-injection drug protocols including by obtaining its drugs illegally."

She later stated the First Amendment allows "the shroud of secrecy that Arizona maintains around its executions."

The federal government and states nationwide have had trouble in recent years acquiring the drugs needed to execute individuals. Many drug companies have refused to provide governments with the drugs if they are intended to be used for executions.

Arizona tried to import the drug thiopental from India in 2015. However, federal officials confiscated the drug at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

According to a letter by Brnovich, the U.S. Department of Justice issued an opinion in 2019 saying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not have the jurisdiction to regulate the importation of drugs if they were to be used for executions.

He asked Ducey to help him acquire the needed drugs.

"Justice must be done for the victims of these heinous crimes and their families," Brnovich wrote in the letter. "Those who commit the ultimate crime deserve the ultimate punishment."

There are 14 inmates on death row in Arizona who have exhausted their appeals.

Have thoughts about Arizona’s legal system? Reach criminal justice reporter Lauren Castle at Lauren.Castle@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Lauren_Castle.

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