BOISE, Idaho, June 9 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court has ordered the state of Idaho to allow the news media and other witnesses to view executions from start to finish.
The ruling handed down Friday applies to the execution of Richard Leavitt, scheduled for Tuesday. Leavitt was sentenced to death for the 1984 killing of Diane Eig, 31, of Blackfoot, who was found in her home stabbed 15 times and with her genitals cut out.
The appellate court ruled that witnesses should be able to view the insertion of lines for lethal injection and other preliminary steps.
"The First Amendment protects the right to witness executions in their entirety," the court said.
The plaintiffs in the case included The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., the Associated Press and other news organizations.
Jeff Ray, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, told the Spokesman-Review the state will comply with the order and the execution will proceed on schedule.
