Georgia’s lethal-injection spending rises as secrecy shields process

Georgia has paid more than US$1.1 million to at least one contractor for lethal-injection-related work since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to records released after a legal challenge reported by ProPublica. The state carried out one execution during that period.

The records indicate the Georgia Department of Corrections spent an average of more than US$150,000 a year on lethal-injection-related costs over the past decade. They do not establish the full cost of the state’s execution programme or explain the increase in spending.

The documents were released after a three-judge panel ordered Georgia to disclose some records sought by ProPublica. Names and other identifying details remained redacted under the state’s Lethal Injection Secrecy Act, which protects people and entities involved in executions.

The records also indicate Georgia may cover contractors’ legal fees in some proceedings. ProPublica reported that the documents included handwritten cheques and sparse payment records that may not comply with the department’s financial-records policies, which require detailed purchase orders to be retained and logged.

Georgia introduced lethal injection in the early 2000s and later turned to compounding pharmacies amid drug shortages and restrictions on pharmaceutical suppliers. After a recent Georgia Supreme Court ruling removed a barrier that had paused executions, the state scheduled an execution for 16 September, its first in two years, according to ProPublica.

The Georgia Department of Corrections and the state attorney general’s office declined to comment on the spending and secrecy surrounding the process.