2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 24 - Corrections, Jails, Probations, Paroles and Pardons › Chapter 3 - State Prison System › Section 24-3-580. Nondisclosure of identity of members of an execution team and the acquisition of drugs to administer a death sentence.

(A) As used in this section, the term:
(1) "Execution team" shall be construed broadly to include any person or entity that participates in the planning or administration of the execution of a death sentence, including any person or entity that prescribes, compounds, tests, uses, manufactures, imports, transports, distributes, supplies, prepares, or administers the drugs, medical supplies, or medical equipment utilized in the execution of a death sentence.
(2) "Identifying information" shall be construed broadly to include any record or information that reveals a name, date of birth, social security number, personal identifying information, personal or business contact information, or professional qualifications. The term "identifying information" also includes any residential or business address; any residential, personal, or business telephone number; any residential, personal, or business facsimile number; any residential, personal, or business email address; and any residential, personal, or business social media account or username.
(3) "De-identified condition" means data, records, or information from which identifying information is omitted or has been removed.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any identifying information of a person or entity that participates in the planning or administration of the execution of a death sentence shall be confidential. For all members of the execution team, identifying information shall not be subject to discovery, subpoena, or any other means of legal compulsion or process for disclosure to any person or entity in any administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding in the courts, administrative agencies, boards, commissions, legislative bodies, or quasilegislative bodies of this State, or in any other similar body that exercises any part of the sovereignty of the State.
(C) A person shall not knowingly disclose the identifying information of a current or former member of an execution team or disclose a record that would identify a person as being a current or former member of an execution team. Any person and his immediate family, or entity whose identity is disclosed in violation of this section shall have a civil cause of action against the person who is in violation of this section and may recover actual damages and, upon a showing of a wilful violation of this section, punitive damages. A person who violates the provisions of this subsection also must be imprisoned not more than three years.
(D) Any purchase or acquisition of drugs, medical supplies, and medical equipment necessary to execute a death sentence shall be exempt from the entirety of the South Carolina Procurement Code and all of its attendant regulations.
(E) The out-of-state acquisition of any drug intended for use by the department in the administration of the death penalty shall be exempt from all licensing processes and requirements administered by the Department of Health and Environmental Control or by any other department or agency of the State of South Carolina. Furthermore, the out-of-state acquisition of any drug intended for use by the department in the administration of the death penalty shall be exempt from all regulations promulgated by the Board of Pharmacy.
(F) Any pharmacy or pharmacist, whether located within or without the State, that is involved in the supplying, manufacturing, or compounding of any drug intended for use by the department in the administration of the death penalty shall be exempt from all licensing, dispensing, and possession laws, processes, regulations, and requirements of or administered by the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, the Board of Pharmacy, or any other state agency or entity, found anywhere in the South Carolina Code of Laws or South Carolina Code of Regulations, only to the extent that the licensing, dispensing, and possession laws, processes, regulations, and requirements pertain to the drugs intended for use in the administration of the death penalty, and no prescription from any physician shall be required for any pharmacy or pharmacist to supply, manufacture, or compound any drug intended for use in the administration of the death penalty. This exemption shall not apply to any licensure or permitting requirements for the supply, manufacture, or compounding of any other legend drug or pharmaceutical device.
(G) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, Section 30-4-10, et seq., no department or agency of this State, no political subdivision, and no other government or quasigovernment entity shall disclose the identifying information of any member of an execution team or any details regarding the procurement and administrative processes referenced in subsections (D) through (F).
(H) The Office of the Comptroller General and the Office of the State Treasurer shall work with the South Carolina Department of Corrections to develop a means to ensure that the state's accounting and financial records related to any transaction for the purchase, delivery, invoicing, etc. of or for supplies, compounds, drugs, medical supplies, or medical equipment utilized in the execution of a death sentence are kept in a de-identified condition.
(I) This section shall be broadly construed by the courts of this State so as to give effect to the General Assembly's intent to ensure the absolute confidentiality of the identifying information of any person or entity directly or indirectly involved in the planning or execution of a death sentence within this State.
(J) The Department of Corrections shall comply with federal regulations regarding the importation of any execution drugs.
(K) A member of the General Assembly, a member's immediate family, or any business with which a member or the member's immediate family member has a controlling interest as an owner, director, officer or majority shareholder that has voting rights regarding the business' financial decisions must not offer nor provide drugs, medical supplies, or medical equipment necessary to execute a death sentence.
HISTORY: 2010 Act No. 203, Section 1, eff June 7, 2010; 2023 Act No. 16 (S.120), Section 1, eff May 12, 2023.
Editor's Note
2023 Act No. 16, Section 3, provides as follows:
"SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to persons sentenced to death as provided by law prior to and after the effective date of this act."
Effect of Amendment
2023 Act No. 16, Section 1, rewrote the section.