Judge nixes executioner's suit

COLUMBIA -- A federal judge has ruled against a former South Carolina prisons employee who said he was forced to perform executions or face a demotion, effectively ending the man's lawsuit against the state corrections agency.

In an order filed in federal court Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie wrote that Ira Craig Baxley had not made a strong enough argument that his right to free speech was violated when he told a superior he did not want to execute inmates.

"Plaintiff's expression of reservations about participating in executions does not constitute speech protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments," Currie wrote.

Baxley, a 22-year prison employee, was a major in charge of the SWAT team. He and another employee, security division major Terry Bracey, sued the South Carolina Department of Corrections in 2007, saying they were forced to perform executions to keep leadership positions.

In their lawsuits, the men said they were not trained properly to perform the executions or given counseling afterward. They also said operations director Robert Ward told Baxley he "could not acquire and hold the team leader position unless he agreed to act as an executioner of condemned inmates, a position which was outwardly represented as 'voluntary.' "

In his lawsuit, Bracey said he told Ward he did not want to perform executions, but Ward did not look for a replacement until earlier this year, after another executioner committed suicide.

When Baxley told Corrections Director Jon Ozmint he was concerned about performing executions, Ozmint told him "that if he did not like it, he could transfer" -- something Baxley's lawsuit claims would have meant losing his position, state-issued vehicle and pay grade.

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Baxley executed at least eight inmates, according to court documents. Bracey's lawsuit did not give a specific number. Both men took disability retirement from the agency in 2007.

But even if the agency did tell Baxley he'd lose his leadership position and perks if he declined to perform executions, Currie wrote that conduct would not have been serious enough for the lawsuit to go to trial.

"These allegations are insufficient to support a finding that Plaintiff was forced to participate in executions," Currie wrote of Baxley's case. "At most, he was given a difficult choice with emotional repercussions."

Bracey's lawsuit is ongoing, but Currie's decision effectively ends Baxley's litigation. An attorney for both men said Wednesday he respected Currie's decision but planned to appeal.