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Official: Texas can keep lethal drug source secret

By WTOP Staff

NOMAAN MERCHANT
Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — Texas’ prison system does not have to reveal where it gets its execution drugs, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday, marking a reversal by the state’s top prosecutor on an issue being challenged in several death penalty states.

Under Greg Abbott, who is also the Republican nominee for governor in the nation’s busiest death penalty state, the Texas Attorney General’s Office had since 2010 rejected three similar attempts by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to keep secret its source of the drugs used to carry out lethal injections.

But on Thursday, Abbott’s office sided with state prison officials who said their supplier would be in danger if identified, citing a “threat assessment” signed by Texas Department of Public Safety director Steven McCraw.

The assessment, a one-page letter dated March 7, said pharmacies “by design are easily accessible to the public and present a soft target to violent attacks.” He added that naming a pharmacy supplying execution drugs “presents a substantial threat of physical harm … and should be avoided to the greatest extent possible.”

Abbott’s decision came the same day Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said his state should consider creating its own laboratory to make execution drugs rather than relying on “uneasy cooperation” with outside suppliers. A state-operated lab would be a first, and it wasn’t immediately clear if Missouri could open such a lab without approval from lawmakers.

Missouri and Texas are among death penalty states that contend the compounding pharmacies providing them with execution drugs must remain secret in order to protect the suppliers from threats of violence. Lawyers for death row inmates say they need the information to verify the drugs’ potency and protect inmates from unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.

Courts — including the U.S. Supreme Court — have yet to halt an execution based on a state’s refusal to reveal its drug supplier. The secrecy argument also was used ahead of a bungled execution last month in Oklahoma, though that inmate’s faulty veins, not the execution drug, were cited as the likely culprit of the problems there.

Unlike some states, Texas law doesn’t specifically say whether prison officials must disclose where they buy lethal injection drugs. The opinion from Abbott’s office Thursday cites the threat assessment as the justification for doing so, saying that “in this instance and when analyzing the probability of harm, this office must defer to the representations of DPS, the law enforcement experts charged with assessing threats to public safety.”

Prison officials in Texas have previously provided little public evidence to support their claim that its execution drug supplier would be in danger if identified.

State and local law enforcement, including a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said last month they were not investigating any threats against a Houston-area compounding pharmacy previously identified as the state’s execution supplier.

The pharmacy’s owner had complained of “constant inquiries from the press, the hate mail and messages,” and the DPS assessment released Thursday said some of the threats made against that pharmacy “should be taken seriously.” It does not say why, and a spokesman for the agency did not immediately return a message Thursday night asking if those threats are now under investigation.

In Missouri, Koster said that he believes his state’s Legislature “should remove market-driven participants and pressures from the system and appropriate funds to establish a state-operated, DEA-licensed laboratory to produce the execution chemicals in our state,” according to a transcript provided by his office.

Earlier this month, The Associated Press and four other news organizations filed a lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections, claiming the state’s refusal to provide information on the execution drug violates the public’s constitutional right to have access to information about the punishment.

Death penalty states have been scrambling to find new sources of drugs after several drugmakers, including many based in Europe, refused to sell drugs for use in lethal injections. That’s led several states to compounding pharmacies, which are not as heavily regulated by the Food and Drug Administration as conventional pharmacies.

Abbott’s decision is expected to be appealed and could eventually land before the Texas Supreme Court. A prominent Texas defense attorney, Maurie Levin, called Abbott’s decision “deeply disturbing and frankly quite shocking.”

“Serious questions surround this about-face, including why our attorney general, who once championed transparency, is suddenly now supporting secretive government practices,” Levin said in a statement.

___

Graczyk reported from Houston. Associated Press writer Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.

Follow Nomaan Merchant on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nomaanmerchant.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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