Current through Bulletin 2024-18, September 15, 2024
(1) The Department
shall permit press access to the execution and information concerning the
execution consistent with the requirements of the constitutions and laws of the
United States and State of Utah.
(2) The Department and the Utah Code
recognize the need for the public to be informed concerning executions. The
Department will cooperate with the new media to inform the public concerning
the execution in a timely manner.
(3) The Executive Director shall be
responsible for selecting the members of the news media who will be permitted
to witness the execution.
(a) After the court
sets a date for the execution of the death penalty, news directors or editors
who wish to have a staff member witness the execution may submit, in writing,
such request for no more than one news media staff member. The request shall be
addressed to the Executive Director and received at least 30 days before the
execution.
(b) When administrative
convenience or fairness to the news media dictates, the Department, in its
discretion, may extend the request deadline.
(c) Requests for consideration may be granted
by the Executive Director provided they contain the following:
(i) a statement setting forth facts showing
that the requesting individual falls within the definition of member of the
"press" and "news media" as set forth in this rule;
(ii) an agreement to act as a pool
representative for other news gathering agencies desiring information on the
execution; and
(iii) an agreement
that the media member will abide by any condition while in attendance at the
execution.
(d) Upon
receipt of a news director's or editor's request for permission for news media
witnesses to attend the execution, the Executive Director may take the steps
necessary to verify the statements made in the request. After verifying the
information in the request, selection of witnesses shall be made by the
Executive Director.
(e) As a
condition to attending the execution, each designated media witness shall be
required by the Department to execute an agreement setting forth their
willingness to conduct themselves while on prison property in a manner
consistent with the legitimate penological, security and safety concerns as
delineated by the Department.
(f)
Media witnesses shall be searched before being allowed to witness the
execution.
(g) The Department shall
arrange for pre-execution briefings, distribution of media briefing packages,
briefings throughout the execution event, and post-execution briefings by the
news media who witnessed the execution.
(4) Persons representing the news media
witnessing the execution shall be required to sign a statement or release
absolving the institution or any of its staff from any legal recourse resulting
from the exercise of search requirements or other provisions of the witness
agreement.
(5) News media
representatives shall, after being returned from the execution to the staging
area, act as pool representatives for other media representatives covering the
event.
(a) The pool representatives shall meet
at the designated media center and provide an account of the execution and
shall freely answer all questions put to them by other media members and may
not be permitted to report their coverage of the execution back to their
respective news organizations until after the non-attending media members have
had the benefit of the pool representatives' account of the
execution.
(b) News media members
attending the post-execution briefing shall agree to remain in the briefing
room and not leave nor communicate with persons outside the briefing room until
the briefing is over.
(c) The
briefing shall end when the attending news media members are through asking
questions or after 60 minutes, whichever comes first.
(d) Any film or videotape obtained by a pool
photographer may not be used in any news or other broadcast until made
available to all agencies participating in the pool. All agencies receiving the
film or videotape will be permitted to use them in news coverage and to retain
the film or videotape for file footage.
(6) The Department may alter these processes
to impose additional conditions, restrictions, and limitations on media
coverage of the execution when requirements become necessary for the
preservation of prison security, personal safety or other legitimate interests
which may be in jeopardy.
(7) If
extraordinary circumstances develop, additional conditions and restrictions
shall be no more restrictive than required to meet the exigent
circumstances.
