A judge today stood by her decision to allow the videotaping of tonight's execution of Cobb County killer Andrew Grant DeYoung.
Superior Court Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane rejected the state's attempt to allow her ruling to be reviewed by the Georgia Supreme Court. "Under these circumstances it is appropriate to preserve a film record of the event for possible discovery and trial," Lane said in an order signed this afternoon.
Lane, overseeing the appeal of death-row inmate Gregory Walker, had ordered the recording of DeYoung’s execution after hearing claims the state’s lethal injection process caused unnecessary pain and suffering. The videotaping of an execution is extremely rare and would be the first such recording in almost two decades. No states with the death penalty currently allow it.
Lane ordered that the videotaping not interfere with the execution or identify any of those involved in carrying it out, and she also ordered the tape be immediately turned over to the court under seal. A defense expert can also witness DeYoung’s autopsy, Lane said in an order signed Monday.
On Wednesday, the state Attorney General's Office, on behalf of the state Department of Corrections, asked the state Supreme Court to overturn Lane's Monday decision. But the court ruled unanimously that the AG's office had failed to follow proper legal procedures when it asked the court to bar the videotaping.
DeYoung, whose appeals are exhausted, was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection Wednesday at 7 p.m., but the Department of Corrections delayed the execution until 7 p.m. tonight, apparently to litigate the videotaping issue once again.
DeYoung was sentenced to death for the 1993 stabbing deaths of his 41-year-old parents, Gary and Kathryn, and his sister Sarah, 14, at the family’s east Cobb home.
In a court filing today, the AG's office said Lane's order may conflict with state law governing who may witness an execution and said the videotaping may interfere with security.
In her order issued today, Lane said the state's request to bar the videotaping was "very general in nature," and she noted the state had not put forward any evidence to should how the taping would impede either the execution or the security measures surrounding it.
Lane added that both parties had presented affidavits of individuals who witnessed the June 23 execution of Roy Willard Blankenship that are "sharply divided."
"In light of the circumstances which exist at the time of an execution it appears likely that eyewitness perceptions may continue to reflect marked variance," Lane wrote.
Lane also added that her order makes no determination regarding whether the film evidence will be admissible as evidence or accessible to anyone.
"It would remain under seal pending further order of the court," she said. "Any proposed use of this preserved evidence would be subject to further judicial determination (and possibly appeal)."
Brian Kammer, Walker’s lawyer, said the videotaping should be allowed.
“Up to now, the Department of Corrections has refused to allow for experts to witness the executions,” Kammer said. He contended the state botched the June 23 execution of Roy Willard Blankenship by subjecting the condemned killer to unnecessary pain and suffering. State officials have said there are no grounds for such a claim.
“At this point, we need an objective recording to eliminate any dispute as to what transpires in the next lethal injection,” Kammer said. “If there’s nothing to hide, then the Department of Corrections should want to allow scrutiny and a recording of its practices.”
About the Author
