ATLANTA — On Wednesday, September 2, 2026, the ACLU of Georgia and the Law Offices of Gerry Weber filed a lawsuit on behalf of Appen Media Group, a media company that publishes seven weekly newspapers and three online news websites in Georgia, challenging the arbitrary restrictions that the State of Georgia places on media witnesses during executions.
The lawsuit names the Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison Warden Jason Beasley, and Georgia Attorney General Christopher M. Carr as violating the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by unilaterally and arbitrarily placing restrictions on visual and auditory access to executions, and obstructing the press and the public’s right to receive accurate and comprehensive information. The lawsuit highlights that the Georgia Department of Corrections asserts unchecked power to decide which media gets to witness executions, which parts are witnessed, and which parts are hidden, without any restrictions on its decision-making.
“The public shouldn't have to take the government’s word for what happens behind prison walls during an execution. Furthermore, transparency is not a favor the government grants the press — it is an essential safeguard of public accountability. This case is about whether Georgians can trust that the government’s most consequential actions are being conducted openly and lawfully,” said Hans Appen, publisher, Appen Media Group.
“Georgians deserve to know what goes on during executions by the State,” said Cory Isaacson, legal director, ACLU of Georgia. “The State currently holds absolute power to hide key components of executions from the press and the public, and the Constitution doesn’t allow that. If the State can limit access whenever and however it wants, it can too easily hide mistakes or misconduct.”
The lawsuit asks the court to step in urgently to order the State to change its policies before the State’s scheduled execution of Stacey Humphreys on Sept. 16, 2026. The State currently prohibits media witnesses from accessing key parts of the execution process, including the administration of the lethal drugs, leaving the press unable to observe the drugs or quantity being used in the injections, or any concerns or complications that arise during the injection process.
The State also prohibits witnesses from hearing most of what is said or what sounds are produced during the execution process and bans all but one media witness from seeing the stage of the execution — attempting to establish intravenous access on the condemned prisoner — that is the most fraught, and has been the source of multiple botched executions.
Appen Media Group and the public are dependent on the designated media witnesses to receive accurate information about how the State carries out one of its gravest responsibilities. The State’s ability to unilaterally police what the press and the public know about how it carries out executions, and the restrictions the State imposes, block this crucial accounting.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and interlocutory injunction to prevent the State from carrying out executions until there are constitutional parameters around its decision-making and until it removes the unconstitutional limits on media witnesses’ visual and auditory access to executions.
The emergency motion can be found here.
The complaint can be found here.
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