The lawsuit alleges that a death row councilor operated a Twitter account that celebrated the execution of Christopher Vialva in September.
(Courtesy: Federal Bureau of Prisons)
The Federal Bureau of Prisons quietly reassigned a senior staff member after he was found to be celebrating the executions of inmates under his care.
That’s according to a lawsuit filed Monday by Ashley Eve, an Indiana attorney who says the bureau denied her last-minute communication with an inmate in the fall.
The lawsuit alleges that death row counselor Andrew Sutton operated a Twitter account that celebrated the execution of Christopher Vialva. The account taunted Eve with media reports that Vialva was fearful as lethal injection drugs were administered.
The inmate was one of two men executed in September as part of the Trump administration’s wave of federal executions that began in July.
The anonymous account also called for more inmates on death row to be executed and shared details not widely known outside the prison system.
According to the lawsuit, Sutton scheduled and controlled most communication between inmates on the federal death row and their attorneys.
“Who they have legal visits with, when they have legal visits, when they have legal calls … and who they're even allowed to visit,” Eve said. “That individual essentially controlled almost all aspects of their lives as it relates to the outside world.”
Days after Vialva’s execution in September, prisoners reported to Eve that Sutton had been reassigned suddenly. The prison bureau did not respond to inquiries Tuesday about Sutton’s role or alleged reassignment.
Eve said that a day before Vialva’s execution, Sutton refused to allow the two to hold a legal call. The prison bureau denied preventing the call at the time.
But Eve produced an email signed by Sutton explaining that the call was cancelled after Eve shared a recording of Vialva. Sutton wrote that the recording violated prison policy.
The Trump administration carried out 10 executions in 2020 and has plans to carry out three more in January, days ahead of president-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Last week, a U.S. District judge in Washington, D.C. stayed the execution of Lisa Montgomery, they only woman on death row. The judge said that the government’s decision to schedule it for Jan. 12 was illegal because a separate stay was in place.
The U.S. on Tuesday appealed that stay.
The U.S. is also planning to execute Dustin Higgs and Corey Johnson days ahead of the inauguration. Both men tested positive for COVID-19 after the last round of executions in December. The prison is experiencing a large outbreak.
Attorneys for all three inmates say it is unsafe to carry out more executions now.
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