Virginia
NPR fights for access to Virginia execution recordings
Next week, the Virginia Court of Appeals will consider whether to lift the veil of secrecy over execution tapes that give the public a rare glimpse into how the state administered capital punishment before abolishing the practice in 2021.
The tapes, recorded in the execution chamber by prison employees, were hidden for years before NPR journalist Chiara Eisner unearthed four recordings that a former prison employee donated to the Library of Virginia archives. That audio, which NPR published in 2023, revealed new details about oversight by prison employees moments before carrying out the state’s ultimate punishment.
The Virginia Department of Corrections has disclosed that it recorded 32 additional tapes concerning 27 executions over three decades, but it refused to turn them over when NPR and Ian Kalish, a clinical supervising attorney at the Reporters Committee, requested the audio under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act. Last year, NPR sued for the tapes’ release with free legal support from the First Amendment Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law, which is administered by attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
A circuit court in Charlottesville sided with the Department of Corrections, finding that the recordings were protected under a Virginia FOIA exemption that protects records of prisoners. Throughout the school year, Reporters Committee attorneys worked with students in the UVA First Amendment Clinic to brief the case in the Court of Appeals.
NPR, Eisner, and Kalish have been represented in the case by clinic co-directors Lin Weeks, an RCFP senior staff attorney, and Gabe Rottman, director of RCFP’s Technology and Press Freedom Project. Ahead of oral argument on July 16, we spoke with Kalish to learn more about why the clinic got involved in the fight for public access to execution records and what implications the case could have on efforts to hold Virginia prisons accountable.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did the UVA Law Clinic and Reporters Committee attorneys get involved in this case?
It originally came to the clinic’s radar because Chiara was going to report on the fact that she had submitted the FOIA request and that had been denied, so the clinic offered some commentary about the request and the denial. We continued to work with Chiara and NPR in terms of figuring out if there was a potential way to push back, and then the clinic ended up partnering with them on the litigation.
What makes this such an important case for clinic students to work on?
I think these records are very valuable because this process is largely happening within sort of a black box. It’s important for the public to understand what happens in these situations because these actions are being taken in the name of the public. I think just being able to facilitate that type of oversight is quite important.
More generally, I think public access cases are good for students because they offer discrete legal issues, generally issues of statutory interpretation regarding what an exemption in a statute says and what it means and how it applies to a specific record. It’s a little bit more teed up and focused than other types of cases are at times, so it allows the students a little bit more opportunity to really dig in and shepherd a case from its initiation to its conclusion.
What is it about these execution tapes that make them worth pursuing in court?
I think the four tapes are very rare. The fact that they’re publicly accessible doesn’t happen often, but they are very valuable.
I think it’s important to have information about execution and what it looks like in general because while Virginia is no longer engaged in the practice, other states are. There’s always the potential that things might change. I think that execution remains such a significant political issue that it’s important for people to understand what the procedure looks like, what happens, just for them to make an informed decision about whether they support the practice of capital punishment or not.
What are the key arguments that Reporters Committee attorneys have made about why these records should be public?
The main argument that is being teed up on appeal is this question regarding the interpretation of an exemption that prevents the public from gaining access to records of inmates, which we interpret to mean information that would otherwise be in the possession of inmates or information generated by the inmates, such as correspondence that is being held by the prison. Just because an inmate’s information is held by the agency because of the nature of the jailer-prisoner relationship doesn’t necessarily mean that anyone who puts a FOIA request to the agency should be able to get access to it.
But in contrast, we interpret this exemption to not reach administrative documents or information created by the agency that relates to the conduct of the agency. For example, procedures followed during the execution process are state action. We don’t think that exemption for the records of the individual should be read so broadly as to shield that type of thing from public oversight because in effect, you’re walling off the prison system significantly from all oversight.
By its nature, the actions that agency takes are for the most part directed toward or involving individual inmates. So you really need to preserve the ability to access records and information about those actions.
How do you think the outcome of this case could shape the application of Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act in the future?
I think the nature of Virginia FOIA is sort of interesting in that it has this blanket presumption of access but then exemptions are very particularized, and there are a lot of them. Because of that, there’s not a lot of really binding authority about what each one means. Some exemptions have had the benefit of judicial analysis and guidance, others haven’t.
I think whenever you don’t have this type of clear guidance from a court, people relying on the statute to access records are at a bit of a loss. There’s really no clear case to point to if a FOIA officer denies a request to say, “Hey, this court says that this material is reachable,” or, “This court says that this exemption should be interpreted this way.” I think any opportunity you have to clarify what the statute means is important.
Particularly with this exemption, it can be applied very broadly if it means what the Department of Corrections has argued and what the trial court seems to have endorsed. If it just means that things involving or related to a specific inmate can be withheld, it’s unclear to me what type of meaningful oversight you could have over the Virginia Department of Corrections or the prisons at all. So I think this one in particular is even more important just because of the potential scope of its use moving forward.
The Reporters Committee regularly files friend-of-the-court briefs and its attorneys represent journalists and news organizations pro bono in court cases that involve First Amendment freedoms, the newsgathering rights of journalists and access to public information. Stay up-to-date on our work by signing up for our monthly newsletter and following us on Twitter or Instagram.
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — No. 23 Boston College Baseball will host Virginia Tech in a three-game series from April 10-12. On Friday and Sunday, the two teams will compete at Harrington Athletics Village with first pitch at 3:00 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, and both games will be streamed on ACCNX. On Saturday, the game will be played at Fenway Park for the 14th annual ALS Awareness Game. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and broadcast on ACC Network.
The 2026 ALS Awareness Game
The 14th annual Boston College ALS Awareness Game is coming to Fenway Park on Saturday, April 11, at 2 p.m., when the Eagles will face Virginia Tech in the second of a three-game series. The game has been played annually in honor of former BC baseball captain Pete Frates since his ALS diagnosis in 2012. This year marks the seventh time it has been played at Fenway Park. Frates passed away in 2019 at the age of 34.
Record vs Virginia Tech
Boston College is 26-35 all-time against Virginia Tech, including a 14-13 record at home. The Eagles were swept when the two teams last met in 2024. Six current players saw action in that series, with Nick Wang, Kyle Wolff, and Owen DeShazo seeing at-bats. Wolff was a combined 4-11 with five RBI, a home run, two doubles, and a triple in the series. Kyle Kipp, A.J. Colarusso, and Tyler Mudd all pitched, with Colarusso starting and going six innings with six strikeouts.
Scouting the Hokies
Virginia Tech is 15-16 this season and 6-9 in conference so far. The Hokies dropped their lone midweek contest, 11-4, to Liberty and lost two of three over the weekend to Miami. They won the finale against the Hurricanes, 6-3. Virginia Tech is hitting .256 as a team this season, but has three hitters above .300, led by Ethan Ball at .310. Ball leads the Hokies in hits and home runs with 35 and six, respectively. Hudson Lutterman is the team RBI leader with 23. The Virginia Tech pitching staff has four arms with over 20 innings, including Griffin Stieg, who has thrown 37 innings with 33 strikeouts. Brett Renfrow is the Hokies’ strikeout leader with 49 so far this season. The staff has an ERA of 7.68, but two arms with sub-5.00 ERAs: Luke Craytor and Chase Swift, with 3.77 and 4.24 ERAs, respectively.
The Matchups
The first game of the series will feature A.J. Colarusso against Logan Eisenreich. Colarusso is 3-1 on the year with a 2.88 ERA in 40.2 innings of work to go with 37 strikeouts. In his last outing, Colarusso went six innings against No. 6 North Carolina, allowing just one unearned run while matching his season high of seven strikeouts. Eisenreich is 0-1 this season with a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings of work to go with 18 strikeouts. His last appearance was three innings in relief against Miami, where he allowed an earned run while striking out two.
On Saturday, Brady Miller and Brett Renfrow will face off. Miller has yet to earn a decision this season in 27 innings of work. He has posted a 2.33 ERA to go with 27 strikeouts. His last outing saw him throw five innings against No. 6 North Carolina, where he gave up five earned runs with two strikeouts. Renfrow is 1-4 this season in 34.1 innings with 49 strikeouts and a 6.82 ERA. His last start came against Miami, where he allowed seven earned runs in five innings of work while striking out six.
Sunday’s starters are still to be determined.
Last Time Out
Boston College won both of its midweek contests, defeating UMass 11-1 in the Beanpot semifinals before beating Dartmouth 13-3. Against the Minutemen, Cesar Gonzalez, Luke Gallo, and Carter Hendrickson all had two RBI, while four guys had two hits each. On Wednesday, Wang paced the offense with three RBI. Julio Solier, Ty Mainolfi, and Jack Toomey all had three hits in the win. Jacob Burnham earned the win against UMass, while Peter Schaefer won against Dartmouth.
Up Next
The Eagles will host two midweeks next week, beginning on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. with the championship game against Northeastern, followed by UConn at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. They will then host Duke for an ACC series.
ASHLAND, Va. — Eighth-grade students from Richmond Public Schools are getting a hands-on look at the stars at the Keeble Observatory at Randolph-Macon College.
The observatory, located on the campus in Ashland, is a research, outreach, and teaching telescope for the college’s Department of Physics, Engineering, and Astrophysics.
WTVR
It is the largest telescope of its kind between Washington, D.C., and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Earth Science teacher Chloe Tremper brought her class from Boushall Middle School to the observatory to learn about celestial objects.
“I think more people should know about it, especially when they have public nights on Thursdays. I’ll definitely be coming back with some folks,” Tremper said.
Randolph-Macon engineering and astrophysics students Brielle Baughman and Kamaya Wilson helped guide the middle schoolers during their visit.
“It never gets old. It’s beautiful looking at it every time. And then seeing others see how beautiful it is, and their reactions, it’s amazing,” Baughman said.
“We usually have something already up. Something cool, shocking. Typically, a planet. We can look at Saturn. That’s a really popular one. I personally think Saturn’s my favorite,” Wilson said.
WTVR
The telescope and lab provide hands-on learning for students of all ages.
The campus hosts weekly public stargazing sessions on Thursdays during the academic semester, weather permitting.
Visitors can even play a form of cosmic bingo, marking off cards with everything they see.
Physics professor Michael Rodruck knows not all the middle school students will become astrophysicists, but he hopes they all find an interest in discovering new things.
“I hope they just get amazed by the night sky. Usually when kids look through that telescope, it’s always ‘Wow, that’s so cool!’ And seeing that spark of curiosity. Seeing that spark of interest, that really is making it worth it,” Rodruck said.
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RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger defended her administration’s policies and approach Wednesday during a question-and-answer session at Capital Square. She addressed Virginia’s budget negotiations, immigration enforcement and her approval ratings.
Legislative Action and Special Session
Spanberger said she has signed hundreds of bills in recent days, with many new laws addressing student and school safety as well as the high cost of housing, healthcare and utilities.
She has called a special session for April 23 to finalize the commonwealth’s budget.
The governor reiterated her support for public sector collective bargaining, saying it would give public employees the same choice to join or not join a union that private employees have.
‘Bumpy’ Budget Process
Gov. Abigail Spanberger addresses Virginia’s ‘bumpy’ budget impasse
Spanberger described ongoing budget negotiations between House and Senate Democrats as challenging but progressing toward the April 23 special session deadline.
“It’s a bumpy road, certainly, but in speaking with the chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee [Sen. Louise Lucas] today, she assures me that we are on path towards getting that budget to me on the 23rd,” Spanberger said.
A key point of contention involves data center tax policy.
The Senate version of the budget eliminates the current sales and use tax exemption that data centers enjoy, which costs Virginia $1.6 billion in lost revenue annually even as the state has become the data center capital of the world. The House version keeps the exemption, creating a significant gap that must be resolved.
The governor said she maintains regular contact with House Appropriations Chair Del. Luke Torian and Sen. Lucas while respecting the legislative process.
“I am endeavoring to be very engaged. But I still need them to a conclusion of the bill that they want to send to my desk,” she said. “They both know where I stand on a variety of issues and certainly what my priorities are.”
Immigration Clarification
Gov. Abigail Spanberger on immigration: ‘Virginia is not a sanctuary state’
Spanberger pushed back against characterizations of Virginia as a “sanctuary state.” She said her executive orders on immigration enforcement maintain levels of cooperation between Virginia State Police and federal immigration officials.
“Virginia is not a sanctuary state. Full stop,” she said. “My executive orders [are that] Virginia state agencies would no longer and principally state police, as the largest of the state law enforcement agencies, would no longer put their police officers, their troopers, under the supervision and direction of ICE agents.”
The governor said Virginia State Police continue coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on warrant-related activities.
“If ICE comes to [Virginia State Police] and says, ‘Here’s a warrant. We need your support on something.’ Yes, they’re going to support them,” she said.
Polling and Cost-of-Living Concerns
Gov. Abigail Spanberger addresses recent approval poll numbers in Virginia
Addressing a recent Washington Post poll showing her 47% approval rating trailing the average Virginia governor’s approval by 13 points, Spanberger emphasized her 2025 election victory margin.
“When I was elected, really, frankly, that’s the only poll that mattered. My election, a 17-point swing,” she said.
On cost-of-living issues, Spanberger said the many bills that will address the high cost of housing, healthcare and utilities will become law and take effect on July 1. She also blamed federal policies for rising gas prices above $4 per gallon, criticizing what the Trump administration’s war against Iran.
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