(Reuters) - A Texas state judge ordered the department of corrections on Thursday to disclose the name of the supplier of drugs used in executions, a decision that adds support to calls for removing secrecy when it comes to lethal injections.
The suit was brought on behalf of two inmates scheduled to be executed next month and was filed at about the same time a judge in neighboring Oklahoma ruled on Wednesday that the state's secrecy on its lethal injections protocols was unconstitutional.
"The (Texas) ruling signals - as other courts have done recently - that it is unacceptable to keep prisoners or the public in the dark regarding how executions are carried out - including the source of the drugs," said Maurie Levin, an attorney for the petitioners.
The Texas Attorney General's office plans to appeal the decision.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement: "We are disappointed in the district court's decision and will be appealing the ruling to a higher court."
The department has said it wanted to keep the name of its new supplier secret to shield it from attacks.
The previous supplier cut ties to the system last year when its name was revealed and it came under threats.
The decision was for the two inmates scheduled to be executed with a new batch of the sedative pentobarbital, used for lethal injections.
It should have no impact for an execution scheduled on Thursday at the state's death chamber in Huntsville, with the lethal injection drug having been obtained earlier.
