Justices order court records unsealed in Alabama execution

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered court filings unsealed related to a recent execution in Alabama.

Justices granted a request from NPR and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on Monday to make the court filings public without having portions blacked out.

Alabama redacted court filings ahead of last month’s execution of Christopher Lee Price. Attorneys for Price had sought a stay, arguing that the state’s lethal injection method is unconstitutionally painful.

Alabama did not oppose the request since a federal appellate court recently ruled in another case that Alabama can’t keep its lethal injection protocol secret.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with The Associated Press and other news outlets seeking Alabama’s lethal injection protocol.

None of the documents have been made public yet.

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