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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly's choice to be the next head of the Kansas prison system was criticized earlier this year by a judge in Idaho, where he is a top corrections official.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the state-court judge in Idaho concluded that Jefferey Zmuda gave "disingenuous" testimony in a lawsuit over access to execution records.
Zmuda is deputy director of Idaho's prison system. Kelly announced his appointment as Kansas corrections secretary last week, effective July 1.
Over the past year, Zmuda has been entangled in a lawsuit in Idaho aimed at forcing the release of records relating to inmate executions in 2011 and 2012. Idaho officials kept finding more documents over the past year, prompting the judge's statement in a March ruling.
Kelly's office is standing behind Zmuda.
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