HB 1287

                                                            Introduced Version
           HOUSE BILL No. 1287
                 _____
              DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 35-38-6.
Synopsis: Execution of death sentence. Requires the warden of the
state prison to select an execution team consisting of members of the
general assembly who have volunteered to serve on the execution team.
Prohibits a person who is not a member of the general assembly from
serving on an execution team, and provides that an execution may not
be carried out until the execution team is fully staffed. Specifies that
the name of a member of the general assembly who: (1) volunteers to
serve on an execution team; or (2) serves on an execution team; is a
public record.
Effective: Upon passage.
                        Morris, Judy
   January 6, 2026, read first time and referred to Committee on Courts and Criminal Code.
2026  IN 1287—LS 6872/DI 106
                                                                                       Introduced
            Second Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2026)
 PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
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                   HOUSE BILL No. 1287
    A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
 corrections.
     Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1    SECTION 1. IC 35-38-6-1, AS AMENDED BY P.L.56-2023,
2 SECTION 322, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
3 [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 1. (a) The punishment of death
4 shall be inflicted by intravenous injection of a lethal substance or
5 substances into the convicted person:
6      (1) in a quantity sufficient to cause the death of the convicted
7      person; and
8      (2) until the convicted person is dead.
9    (b) The death penalty shall be inflicted before the hour of sunrise on
10 a date fixed by the sentencing court. However, the execution must not
11 occur until at least one hundred (100) days after the conviction.
12    (c) The warden of the state prison or persons designated by the
13 warden, shall designate the person who is to serve as the executioner.
14 determine the number of individuals necessary to make up the
15 execution team, and select the execution team from those members
16 of the general assembly who have volunteered to serve on the
17 execution team. A person who is not a member of the general
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1 assembly may not serve on an execution team.
2     (d) A member of the general assembly who wishes to serve on an
3 execution team shall submit the member's name in writing, along
4 with any relevant qualifications or experience, to the presiding
5 officer of the appropriate chamber of the general assembly, who
6 shall transmit the names to the commissioner of the department of
7 correction.
8     (e) An execution may not be carried out until the execution
9 team:
10(1) is fully staffed; and
11(2) has been trained and certified to carry out the execution
12protocol by the department of correction.
13 The commissioner of the department of correction shall establish
14 the training and certification requirements under this subsection.
15     (d) (f) The department of correction may adopt rules under
16 IC 4-22-2 necessary to implement subsection (a).
17     (e) (g) The department of correction may make and enter into a
18 contract with an outsourcing facility, a wholesale drug distributor (as
19 defined in IC 25-26-14-12), a pharmacy (as defined in IC 25-26-13-2),
20 or a pharmacist (as defined in IC 25-26-13-2) for the issuance or
21 compounding of a lethal substance necessary to carry out an execution
22 by lethal injection. A lethal substance provided to the department of
23 correction under this subsection may be used only for the purpose of
24 carrying out an execution by lethal injection. The issuance or
25 compounding of a lethal substance under this subsection:
26(1) does not constitute the practice of pharmacy (as defined in
27IC 25-26-13-2);
28(2) is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Indiana board of
29pharmacy, the medical licensing board of Indiana, the Indiana
30department of health, or the Indiana professional licensing
31agency; and
32(3) is exempt from the provisions of IC 25.
33 A pharmacist, a pharmacy, a wholesale drug distributor, or an
34 outsourcing facility that provides a lethal substance to the department
35 of correction under this subsection shall label the lethal substance with
36 the name of the lethal substance, its dosage, a projected expiration date,
37 and a statement that the lethal substance shall be used only by the
38 department of correction for the purpose of carrying out an execution
39 by lethal injection.
40     (f) (h) The following are confidential, are not subject to discovery,
41 and may not be introduced as evidence in any civil or criminal
42 proceeding:
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1      (1) The identity of a person described in subsection (e)
2      subsection (g) that enters into a contract with the department of
3      correction under subsection (e) subsection (g) for the issuance or
4      compounding of lethal substances necessary to carry out an
5      execution by lethal injection.
6      (2) The identity of an officer, an employee, or a contractor of a
7      person described in subdivision (1).
8      (3) The identity of a person contracted by a person described in
9      subdivision (1) to obtain equipment or a substance to facilitate the
10      compounding of a lethal substance described in subsection (e).
11      subsection (g).
12      (4) Information reasonably calculated to lead to the identity of a
13      person described in this subsection, including a:
14(A) name;
15(B) residential or business address;
16(C) residential or office telephone number; and
17(D) Social Security number or tax identification number.
18 This subsection applies retroactively to any request for information,
19 discovery request, or proceeding, no matter when made or initiated.
20    SECTION 2. IC 35-38-6-6, AS AMENDED BY P.L.67-2017,
21 SECTION 18, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
22 UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 6. (a) Only the following persons may be
23 present at the execution:
24      (1) The warden of the state prison.
25      (2) The person designated by the warden of the state prison and
26      any assistants who are necessary to assist in the execution.
27      execution team.
28      (3) The prison physician.
29      (4) One (1) other physician.
30      (5) The spiritual advisor of the convicted person.
31      (6) The prison chaplain.
32      (7) Not more than five (5) friends or relatives of the convicted
33      person who are invited by the convicted person to attend.
34      (8) Except as provided in subsection (b), not more than eight (8)
35      of the following members of the victim's immediate family who
36      are at least eighteen (18) years of age:
37(A) The victim's spouse.
38(B) One (1) or more of the victim's children.
39(C) One (1) or more of the victim's parents.
40(D) One (1) or more of the victim's grandparents.
41(E) One (1) or more of the victim's siblings.
42    (b) If there is more than one (1) victim, not more than eight (8)
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1 persons who are members of the victims' immediate families may be
2 present at the execution. The department shall determine which persons
3 may be present in accordance with procedures adopted under
4 subsection (c).
5     (c) The department shall develop procedures to determine which
6 family members of a victim may be present at the execution if more
7 than eight (8) family members of a victim desire to be present or if
8 there is more than one (1) victim. Upon the request of a family member
9 of a victim, the department shall establish a support room for the use
10 of:
11(1) an immediate family member of the victim described in
12subsection (a)(8) who is not selected to be present at the
13execution; and
14(2) a person invited by an immediate family member of the victim
15described in subsection (a)(8) to offer support to the immediate
16family member.
17     (d) The warden of the state prison may exclude a person from
18 viewing the execution if the warden determines that the presence of the
19 person would threaten the safety or security of the state prison and sets
20 forth this determination in writing.
21     (e) The department of correction:
22(1) shall keep confidential the identities of persons who assist the
23warden of the state prison in an execution; and
24(2) may:
25(A) classify as confidential; and
26(B) withhold from the public;
27any part of a document relating to an execution that would reveal
28the identity of a person who assists the warden in the execution.
29     (e) The name of a member of the general assembly:
30(1) appointed to an execution team; or
31(2) who has offered to serve on an execution team;
32 is a public record under IC 5-14-3.
33     SECTION 3. An emergency is declared for this act.
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