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Indiana Capital Chronicle v. Indiana Department of Correction

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  1. Freedom of Information
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is seeking access to records showing the cost of a lethal injection drug.

Case Number: 49D04-2501-PL-003330

Court: Marion Superior Court 4

Client: Indiana Capital Chronicle

Background: In June 2024, the editor-in-chief of the Indiana Capital Chronicle, a nonprofit news outlet, submitted a public records request to the Indiana Department of Correction seeking access to information about how much the state paid to acquire a new lethal injection drug, pentobarbital. The request came a few days after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and Attorney General Todd Rokita announced that the acquisition of the drug would enable the state to carry out its first execution in 15 years. 

The IDOC initially failed to respond to the request, prompting the Capital Chronicle to file a complaint with Indiana’s Office of the Public Access Counselor, which helps members of the public and government officials navigate the state’s public access laws. The complaint alleged that the department failed to respond to the news outlet’s request within a reasonable time.

In October 2024, the IDOC denied the news outlet’s request, claiming that the records are shielded from disclosure under exemptions to Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act. The Capital Chronicle then filed a second complaint with the PAC, arguing that the agency improperly denied access to disclosable public records in violation of the public records law.

In response to the second PAC complaint, the IDOC claimed that disclosing the cost of pentobarbital might reveal the identities of individuals connected with the execution of death sentences in the state. 

The PAC issued its informal opinion in December — the same month that Indiana used pentobarbital to execute death row inmate Joseph E. Corcoran — but the agency did not reach a definitive conclusion about whether records showing the cost of the lethal injection drug are protected from disclosure under Indiana’s public records law.

The Capital Chronicle, represented by Reporters Committee Local Legal Initiative Attorney Kris Cundiff, filed this lawsuit against the IDOC alleging that the department violated the state’s Access to Public Records Act by failing to respond to the news outlet’s records request within a reasonable time and by unlawfully withholding public records. 

The lawsuit disputes the government’s claim that the release of records showing the cost of the drug would reveal the identities of the people who carry out executions in the state. Among other things, the Capital Chronicle requests that the Marion Superior Court order the IDOC to disclose the requested records and to require the department to respond to all future public records requests within a reasonable time. 

Quote: “The people of Indiana should not be left in the dark when the government exercises one of its greatest powers: the authority to execute one of its citizens,” Cundiff said. “The records at issue in this lawsuit belong to the public, and they should be promptly released to help the public better understand how much public money it costs to carry out the death penalty in Indiana.”

Filings:

2025-1-21: Complaint for disclosure of public records under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act

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