Opinion
No. CV-12-245-PHX-ROS
02-07-2012
Robert Towery, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Janice K. Brewer, Governor of Arizona, et al. Defendants.
DEATH PENALTY CASE ORDER
Plaintiffs, Arizona prisoners under sentence of death, have filed a civil rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court will order Defendants to respond to the Complaint.
I. Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints
The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or an officer or an employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if a plaintiff has raised claims that are legally frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2).
II. Complaint
In their five-count Complaint, Plaintiffs sue the following Defendants: Arizona Governor Janice K. Brewer, Arizona Department of Corrections Director Charles L. Ryan, Eyman Unit Warden Ron Credio, Florence Unit Warden Lance Hetmer, various unidentified members of the IV and Special Operations Teams, and Does 1-25. In Claim One, Plaintiffs allege that disparate treatment across executions violates the Equal Protection Clause. In Claim Two, Plaintiffs allege that Arizona's lethal injection protocol lacks adequate safeguards to protect against the risk of pain, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. In Claim Three, Plaintiffs allege that administration of a three-drug protocol using imported pancuronium bromide violates their rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. In Claim Four, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants have failed to provide adequate notice of the specific drugs and the type of venous access that will be used in executions, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In Claim Five, Plaintiffs allege that Arizona's lethal injection protocol violates their rights to due process and to access to the courts, in violation of the First, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. In their Prayer for Relief, Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief. The Court has reviewed the Complaint and finds that Plaintiffs have stated claims for relief. Therefore, the Court will require Defendants to answer or otherwise respond to all five counts in the Complaint.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Defendants must answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint within the time provided by the applicable provisions of Rule 12(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
__________________
Roslyn O. Silver
Chief United States District Judge