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PHOENIX (AP) — A federal appeals court says media should be able to hear and not just see the entire process of executing condemned inmates in Arizona.
But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the media and death-row inmates are not entitled to information about the origins of execution drugs or the qualifications of executioners.
The case challenges procedures created after the 2014 execution of Joseph Wood, which his attorney said was "horrifically botched." Those procedures allow journalists to witness executions through a window, but a microphone is turned off once an intravenous line is inserted.
The case was brought by seven condemned inmates and the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona.
They argued the information would help the public determine whether the death penalty is carried out humanely.
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