In the wake of a botched execution, a coalition of Arizona TV, print and radio outlets has joined a lawsuit to compel the Arizona Department of Corrections to fully disclose information about how it executes death row prisoners and to allow the media to witness all stages of the execution, reports the Arizona Republic. Attorneys from the Federal Public Defender’s office initially filed the lawsuit on behalf of Joseph Wood and other death row inmates before Wood’s botched execution on July 23.
The lawsuit continued after Wood’s death, on behalf of five other death row plaintiffs. On Thursday, the Federal Defender filed an amended lawsuit, adding as a plaintiff the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, which is based in Phoenix and comprises the Arizona Broadcasters Association, The Arizona Newspapers Association, the Arizona-New Mexico Cable Telecommunication Association, the Arizona Press Club, and the Society of Professional Journalists-Valley of the Sun Chapter.