|
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Missouri lawmakers passed a bill protecting the anonymity of the state's executioners and allowing them to sue anyone — even a news organization — who discloses their names.
Some of the 37 other states with the death penalty also shield the identities of their executioners. But if this measure is signed into law, Missouri may be the only state to attach a specific penalty to revealing the names, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.
The Missouri Press Association complained that the measure would violate the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press.
|