Lawyers targeting Missouri executioners

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Lawyers representing five death row inmates in Missouri have demanded the names of the state's executioners for a legal motion.

The St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch said Sunday that after its investigation found that a Missouri executioner was a convicted stalker, the team of lawyers questioned the executioners' suitability.

The Post-Dispatch previously had reported that licensed nurse David L. Pinkley, who has a stalking conviction on his record, had worked with the team that executed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

While Missouri state law protects the identities of executioners, the defense attorneys argue their need for information supersedes the law.

The legal battle comes as the death penalty is the focus of an ongoing U.S. Supreme Court case revolving around the use of lethal injection in Kentucky. Lawyers in that case have argued the method constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.