With just a few weeks left in the session, two bills dealing with the death penalty are still moving along in the process. HB 820, sponsored by Rep. Danie Moore (R-Fulton) recently passed the House of Representatives and had a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill provides that the identities of the Department of Corrections execution team shall be confidential and not subject to discovery, subpoena or other means of legal compulsion.

The MCC opposes HB 820 because it prevents accountability and oversight of the execution process. There has been problems with the administration of the lethal injection drugs in at least two of the 66 executions that have been carried out in Missouri. In one case the drugs didn’t flow properly because of tight restraints on the inmate. In the other case the inmate had a reaction to the way the drugs were administered and went into convulsions. The MCC believes that if the state is to carry out executions, there needs to be public assurance that the execution is being carried out in a competent, professional manner that respects the dignity of all involved. HB 820 cloaks the execution process in a veil of secrecy.

Executions in our state are currently on hold as Missouri’s execution protocol is being challenged in federal court. A federal judge ordered the stay last year after testimony from the Missouri doctor who had assisted in state executions since 1995. In a deposition to the court the doctor testified that the execution protocol was not written down and that he had independent authority to change it. He also admitted that he was dyslexic and that he sometimes transposed figures.

Another bill of concern to the MCC is HB 945, sponsored by Rep. Michael Parsons (R-Boliver). This bill would dictate capital punishment for those who murder a “criminal justice official” unless the jurors could be convinced otherwise. HB 945 has also recently passed the House of Representatives and awaits action by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The MCC also opposes this bill because it is not necessary. Missouri law already recognizes the murder of a criminal-justice official as grounds for someone to be sentenced to death. Three of the current 17 “aggravating factors” that justify a death sentence relate to the murder of law officials, prosecuting attorneys, judges, jailers, and corrections personnel. Four individuals have been executed in Missouri for the killing of criminal justice officials. The bill also would help codify a hierarchy of valued human life. While criminal justice officials do important civic work, this bill would deem the lives of these individuals to be worth more than the lives of other citizens.

The MCC will be working in the Senate to prevent the passage of both HB 820 and HB 945 before the end of the legislative session.