Secrecy Inflates Execution Costs

When states legally shield the identities, contracts and invoices behind lethal injections, corrections departments increasingly outsource and pay large sums to anonymous contractors. Public records released after litigation show Georgia spent over $1.1 million since the pandemic (despite carrying out only one execution) and now averages roughly $150,000 a year on lethal‑injection costs—numbers hidden or redacted under a secrecy law. — This matters because legal secrecy designed to protect helpers can obscure rising public spending and procedural risks in a policy area (capital punishment) that demands high transparency and legal safeguards.