McVeigh was convicted of causing the deaths of 168 people in the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the largest act of domestic terrorism in US history. ENI is asking the court to grant a temporary restraining order and injunctions against Terre Haute Warden Harley Lappin, as well as several other federal prison officials, including Attorney General John Aschroft. Citing security risks posed to staff and inmates, federal prison officials have denied ENI's request to put a webcam in the execution chamber. Constitutional law scholars say ENI is facing a tough uphill battle. The courts have historically sided with federal officials when it comes to granting access to criminal proceedings, according to Mort Cohen, director of the Constitutional Law Clinic at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
Institutional security is something the courts weigh heavily.
Several legal cases have established the media's right to access some aspects of criminal proceedings, including pre-trial hearings, Choper said. The federal government has not executed a civilian prisoner since 1963, when television was still in its relative infancy. Since then, requests to broadcast executions have come before state courts, which have never granted permission. Tthis is the first time a federal court will rule on the issue. While it's highly unlikely that Judge Tinder will grant ENI's request, it's not completely out of the question, experts say, observing that freedom of the press has become one of the nation's most treasured rights.