The Missouri Department of Corrections must reveal the maker of its execution drug, a judge ruled Monday.

The execution chamber at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

The execution chamber at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled the law that keeps confidential the identities of members of the state’s execution team does not apply to the maker of the drug used in Missouri’s lethal injections. He found the state violated the open records and meetings law by not releasing documents requested by new media and others, and ordered the state to pay $73,000 in the plaintiff’s attorneys fees.

The ruling has been stayed pending a likely appeal by the state, so the name of the drug maker won’t be released right away.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office says it’s reviewing the ruling.

execMissouri’s next scheduled execution is that of Earl Forrest, May 11. He was sentenced to death for the 2002 murders of a Dent County Sheriff’s Deputy, Sharon Joann Barnes, Harriet Smith, and Michael Wells.