Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 546.720 (2026)

Death penalty

✓ current as of May 2026

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546.720. Death penalty — manner of execution — execution team to be selected, members, confidentiality. — 1. The manner of inflicting the punishment of death shall be by the administration of lethal gas or by means of the administration of lethal injection. And for such purpose the director of the department of corrections is hereby authorized and directed to provide a suitable and efficient room or place, enclosed from public view, within the walls of a correctional facility of the department of corrections, and the necessary appliances for carrying into execution the death penalty by means of the administration of lethal gas or by means of the administration of lethal injection.

2. The director of the department of corrections shall select an execution team which shall consist of those persons who administer lethal gas or lethal chemicals and those persons, such as medical personnel, who provide direct support for the administration of lethal gas or lethal chemicals. The identities of members of the execution team, as defined in the execution protocol of the department of corrections, shall be kept confidential. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any portion of a record that could identify a person as being a current or former member of an execution team shall be privileged and shall not be subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for disclosure to any person or entity, the remainder of such record shall not be privileged or closed unless protected from disclosure by law. The section of an execution protocol that directly relates to the administration of lethal gas or lethal chemicals is an open record, the remainder of any execution protocol of the department of corrections is a closed record.

3. A person may not, without the approval of the director of the department of corrections, knowingly disclose the identity of a current or former member of an execution team or disclose a record knowing that it could identify a person as being a current or former member of an execution team. Any person whose identity is disclosed in violation of this section shall:

(1) Have a civil cause of action against a person who violates this section;

(2) Be entitled to recover from any such person:

(a) Actual damages; and

(b) Punitive damages on a showing of a willful violation of this section.

4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if a member of the execution team is licensed by a board or department, the licensing board or department shall not censure, reprimand, suspend, revoke, or take any other disciplinary action against the person's license because of his or her participation in a lawful execution. All members of the execution team are entitled to coverage under the state legal expense fund established by section 105.711 for conduct of such execution team member arising out of and performed in connection with his or her official duties on behalf of the state or any agency of the state, provided that moneys in this fund shall not be available for payment of claims under chapter 287.

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(RSMo 1939 § 4112, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1340 & 1348, A.L. 1990 H.B. 974, A.L. 2007 H.B. 820)

(2015) Confidentiality of execution team members does not constitute a content-based restriction on access to information that merits strict scrutiny under First Amendment. Zink v. Lombardi, 783 F.3d 1089 (8th Cir.).

(2015) Director of Department of Corrections has some connection with enforcement of section and thus Ex parte Young exception to Eleventh Amendment immunity applies to permit suit against such officer. American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri v. Lombardi, 59 F.Supp.3d 954 (W.D.Mo.).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 24 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1983–2022 · leading case: Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008).

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Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008). · cites it 4× “§ 3604 (West 2000); Mo.Rev.Stat. § 546.720 (2007 Cum.Supp.), or firing squad, see Idaho Code § 19-2716 (Lexis 2004).”

Bucklew v. Precythe, 139 S. Ct. 1112 (2019). · cites it 2× “See Mo. Rev. Stat. §546.720 (2002). Three other States—Alabama, Mississippi, and Okla- homa—have specifically authorized nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution.”

Middleton v. Missouri Dep't of Corr., 278 S.W.3d 193 (Mo. 2009). · cites it 8× “Background DOC issued an execution protocol in July 2006, setting out the steps necessary for preparation, injection, and monitoring of lethal injections pursuant to section 546.720. This provision states that "the punishment of death shall be by the administration of lethal gas…”

Bray v. Lombardi, 516 S.W.3d 839 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 20× “Law by failing to produce records in existence at the time of the records request, but not records existing between the date of the request and the DOC’s response; and (4) the trial court erred in finding the DOC violated the Sunshine Law, purposely or otherwise, by not…”

In re: FBOP Execution Protocol Cases, 955 F.3d 106 (D.C. Cir. 2020). · cites it 3× “§ 15:569 (1994) (“manner of execution” is either “electrocution,” defined as “causing to pass through the body of the person convicted a current of electricity of sufficient intensity to cause death,” or “lethal injection,” defined as “the intravenous injection of a substance or…”

Am. Civil Liberties of Missouri Found. v. Lombardi, 23 F. Supp. 3d 1055 (W.D. Mo. 2014). · cites it 18× “Background Under Mo.Rev.Stat. § 546.720, the director of the Missouri Department of Corrections (“DOC”) shall choose an execution team that consists of persons who administer or provide direct support for the administration of lethal gas or lethal chemicals.”

Nance v. Ward, 597 U.S. 159 (2022). “223 (Lexis 2021); Mo. Rev. Stat. §546.720 (1) (2016); Wyo. Stat.”

State v. Sidebottom, 753 S.W.2d 915 (Mo. 1988). · cites it 2× “§ 546.720, RSMo 1986. We fail to see the relevance of a description of the physical effect the poisonous gas has on a defendant in determining whether to impose the death sentence under the guidelines of section 565.”

Ringo v. Lombardi, 706 F. Supp. 2d 952 (W.D. Mo. 2010). · cites it 6× “See Mo. Rev.Stat. § 546.720. Defendant Steve Larkins serves as Warden of the Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center (ERDCC) in Bonne Terre, Missouri, where Missouri conducts its executions.”

State v. Smith, 944 S.W.2d 901 (Mo. 1997). · cites it 2× “” Section 546.720. All statutory references are to RSMo 1994 unless otherwise indicated.”

Joan Bray v. Missouri Dep't of Corr., 498 S.W.3d 514 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 5× “720, the circuit court concluded that making executions subject to state laws concerning controlled substances and prescription drugs would lead to “an absurd result.” According to the circuit court, the Taxpayers “read regulations that have nothing to do with executions out of…”

Am. Civil Liberties Union of Missouri Found. v. Lombardi, 59 F. Supp. 3d 954 (W.D. Mo. 2014). · cites it 13× “Facts 1 Under Mo.Rev.Stat. § 546.720, the director of the Missouri Department of Corrections (“DOC”) shall choose an exe *956 cution team that consists of persons who administer or provide direct support for the administration of lethal gas or lethal chemicals.”

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