Hammond Rep Nicholas Muscarello (R) in House Governmental Affairs Feb 21, 2024
Lawmakers debated the privacy portion of a bill to protect the names and drug manufacturers involved in the executions of death row inmates. In House Governmental Affairs, Hammond Representative Nick Muscarello said the state can’t get the drugs needed because the manufacturers receive threats so he’s sponsoring the bill.
“The confidentiality provisions in your bill are not new or novel, they’ve been used successfully in other states,” Mandeville Representative Christopher Kim Carver asked.
“We actually did this from a Texas statute so it’s not a novel concept,” said Muscarello.
New Orleans Democrat Candace Newell, who voted against the bill, fears protecting the identities of those involved with an execution goes against “truth and transparency,” however she also believes those who are merely doing their jobs should not be threatened.
“I am in favor of protecting folks who are doing their jobs. The truth and transparency portion and keeping the confidentially of the pharmacists, that gives me pause but I’m not going to throw out the baby with the bathwater, we’re not going to do that,” said Newell.
The bill would allow for criminal civil penalties against those who reveal the identities of those involved with an execution. New Orleans Democrat Rep. Delisha Boyd, who also voted against the bill, reiterated a goal for truth and transparency in government and made the point that bullies should be held liable for their actions.
In referring to the drug companies involved, Boyd said “If their hesitation is because they are receiving threats, whether it’s on social media, whatever it is, that the person that’s behind that keyboard needs to be held accountable as well,” said Boyd.
The bill passed in House Criminal Justice Tuesday and passed favorably in House Governmental Affairs on a 12-5 vote Wednesday and advances to the House Floor.
Comments