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USA - Tennessee. Judge grants expanded press access to state executions
January 16, 2026: January 16, 2026 - Tennessee. Judge grants expanded press access to state executions
A judge ruled Jan. 16 that Tennessee prison officials must grant expanded access to news-media members to view state-run executions, after a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press sued on claims that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit thorough and accurate reporting.
Before Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles’ order, reporters witnessing lethal injections were limited to a short time period during which they could view the execution process. The coalition’s lawsuit argued the protocols violate the public and press’s constitutional rights to witness the entirety of executions conducted by the Tennessee Department of Correction, “from the time the condemned enters the execution chamber until after the condemned is declared dead.”
The lawsuit sought a judgment that the protocols are unconstitutional and an injunction to allow the press to see the full execution process. Myles’ order granted a temporary injunction allowing journalists and other witnesses to see most of the execution process, with security procedures in place for those carrying out the executions.
The lawsuit, filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville, names as defendants Kenneth Nelsen, warden of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville that houses Tennessee’s execution chamber, and Frank Strada, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction.
The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent after hours Friday to a department spokesperson.
During previous executions, journalists began seeing what happened once the condemned person was already strapped to a gurney and hooked up to IV lines. They didn’t know at which precise moment the injections began, and those administering the injections were in a separate room.
The protocol says that after the syringes of saline and pentobarbital are administered, a team leader signals to the warden and a five-minute waiting period begins. After that period, the blinds are closed, the camera is turned off and then the doctor comes in to determine if the person is dead. If so, the warden announces on the intercom system that the sentence was carried out and witnesses are directed to exit.
Essentially, the process granted witnesses a 10- to 15-minute window during which they could observe the process.
Prison officials argued that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not grant the press a right of special access to information not regularly available to the public. They claimed that the restrictions were necessary because allowing the press to see the full execution would endanger prison security and people involved in the process.
The judge’s order says members of the execution team shall wear disposable protective suits covering the members’ regular work uniforms, identification badges and hair. Team members also will be offered a mask “to further conceal his or her identity should they so choose to wear one,” the judge wrote.
During executions involving lethal injection, curtains to the official witness room shall be opened to the execution chamber at 10 a.m., which, according to protocols, is when the inmate is secured with restraints on a gurney and the IV insertion begins.
The curtains must remain open until the pronouncement of death, the judge ruled.
“This Court finds that a meaningful and full observation of executions allows the public to assess whether the state carries out death sentences in a lawful and humane manner and ensures that the execution process remains subject to democratic oversight,” the judge wrote.
In addition to AP, the media coalition includes Gannett Co., Inc.; Nashville Public Media, Inc.; Nashville Public Radio; Scripps Media, Inc.; Six Rivers Media, LLC; and TEGNA INC.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/tennessee-judge-grants-expanded-media-access-to-21299773.php (Source: SFGATE, 16/01/2026)
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