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Tennessee set to execute inmate despite concerns heart device could prolong ordeal Tennessee executes man despite concerns over shock from heart device
(about 4 hours later)
Barring a reprieve, Byron Black’s execution will go forward amid concerns implanted defibrillator will shock his heart Byron Black, 69, put to death after legal battle in which lawyers said defibrillator would shock heart repeatedly
Tennessee is set to execute an inmate on Tuesday without deactivating his implanted defibrillator, as uncertainty lingers about whether the device will shock his heart when a lethal drug takes effect. Tennessee has executed a man without deactivating his implanted defibrillator, despite uncertainty about whether the device would shock his heart when a lethal drug takes effect.
Barring a late reprieve requested from the governor or the courts, Byron Black’s execution will go forward after a legal back-and-forth over whether the state would need to turn off his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD. The non-profit Death Penalty Information Center said it’s unaware of any other cases in which an inmate was making similar claims to Black about ICDs or pacemakers. Byron Black died at 10.43am, prison officials said. Shortly after the lethal injection started, witnesses said Black told a spiritual adviser in the room that he was hurting so badly.
The execution would be Tennessee’s second since May, after a pause for five years, first because of Covid-19 and then because of missteps by the Tennessee department of correction. Black looked around the room as the execution started and could be heard sighing and breathing heavily, witnesses said.
Twenty-seven men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the US, and nine other people are scheduled to be put to death in seven states during the remainder of 2025. The number of executions this year exceeds the 25 carried out last year and in 2018. It is the highest total since 2015, when 28 people were put to death. Black, 69, was executed after a back-and-forth in court over whether officials would need to turn off his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD. He used a wheelchair, and had dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions, his attorneys said.
Black, 69, is in a wheelchair, suffering from dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions, his attorneys have said. The non-profit Death Penalty Information Center said it was unaware of any other cases in which a prisoner was making similar claims to Black about ICDs or pacemakers.
The execution was Tennessee’s second since May, after a pause for five years, first because of Covid-19 and then because of missteps by the Tennessee department of correction.
Twenty-eight men have died by court-ordered execution this year in the US, and nine other people are scheduled to be put to death in seven states during the remainder of 2025.
The number of executions this year exceeds the 25 carried out last year and in 2018. It is the highest total since 2015, when 28 people were put to death.
In mid-July, a trial court judge agreed with Black’s attorneys that officials must have the instrument deactivated to avert the risk that it could cause unnecessary pain and prolong the execution. But the state supreme court intervened on 31 July to overturn that decision, saying the other judge lacked the authority to order the change.In mid-July, a trial court judge agreed with Black’s attorneys that officials must have the instrument deactivated to avert the risk that it could cause unnecessary pain and prolong the execution. But the state supreme court intervened on 31 July to overturn that decision, saying the other judge lacked the authority to order the change.
The state has disputed that the lethal injection would cause Black’s defibrillator to shock him. Even if shocks were triggered, Black wouldn’t feel them, the state has added. The state disputed that the lethal injection would cause Black’s defibrillator to shock him. Even if shocks were triggered, Black would not feel them, the state added.
Black’s attorneys have countered that even if the lethal drug being used, pentobarbital, renders someone unresponsive, they aren’t necessarily unaware or unable to feel pain. Black’s attorneys countered that even if the lethal drug being used, pentobarbital, renders someone unresponsive, they are not necessarily unaware or unable to feel pain.
Black was convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of his girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya Clay, nine, and Lakeisha Clay, six. Prosecutors said he was in a jealous rage when he shot the three at their home. At the time, Black was on work-release while serving time for shooting Clay’s estranged husband. On Monday, the US supreme court rejected Black’s final appeal, and the Tennessee governor, Bill Lee, declined to stop the execution.
Black was convicted over the 1988 shooting deaths of his girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya Clay, nine, and Lakeisha Clay, six. Prosecutors said he was in a jealous rage when he shot the three at their home. At the time, Black was on work-release while serving time for shooting Clay’s estranged husband.
Linette Bell, whose sister and two nieces were killed, recently told WKRN-TV: “He didn’t have mercy on them, so why should we have mercy on him?”Linette Bell, whose sister and two nieces were killed, recently told WKRN-TV: “He didn’t have mercy on them, so why should we have mercy on him?”
“It feels like it is never-ending,” Bell told the news outlet. “They aren’t even resting in their own grave.”“It feels like it is never-ending,” Bell told the news outlet. “They aren’t even resting in their own grave.”
An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is a small, battery-powered electronic device that is surgically implanted in the chest, typically near the left collarbone. It serves as a pacemaker and an emergency defibrillator. Black’s attorneys say the only way to be sure it’s off is for a doctor to place a programming device over the implant site, sending it a deactivation command, with no surgery required.An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is a small, battery-powered electronic device that is surgically implanted in the chest, typically near the left collarbone. It serves as a pacemaker and an emergency defibrillator. Black’s attorneys say the only way to be sure it’s off is for a doctor to place a programming device over the implant site, sending it a deactivation command, with no surgery required.
The legal case also spurred a reminder that most medical professionals consider participation in executions a violation of healthcare ethics.The legal case also spurred a reminder that most medical professionals consider participation in executions a violation of healthcare ethics.
While the judge’s order to deactivate the device was in place, state officials said Nashville general hospital practitioners would perform the procedure the day before at the hospital, but wouldn’t travel to the prison on execution day as the court required. The judge offered some leeway, allowing the procedure at the hospital on the morning of the execution.While the judge’s order to deactivate the device was in place, state officials said Nashville general hospital practitioners would perform the procedure the day before at the hospital, but wouldn’t travel to the prison on execution day as the court required. The judge offered some leeway, allowing the procedure at the hospital on the morning of the execution.
But the Nashville hospital then released a statement saying the state’s contractor didn’t reach out to proper hospital leadership and that there had been no agreement to do the work. But the Nashville hospital then released a statement saying the state’s contractor did not contact proper hospital leadership and that there had been no agreement to do the work.
In recent years, Black’s legal team has also tried and failed to get a new hearing over whether he is intellectually disabled and ineligible for the death penalty under US supreme court precedent.In recent years, Black’s legal team has also tried and failed to get a new hearing over whether he is intellectually disabled and ineligible for the death penalty under US supreme court precedent.
His attorneys have said that if they had delayed a prior attempt to seek his intellectual disability claim, he would have been spared under a 2021 state law.His attorneys have said that if they had delayed a prior attempt to seek his intellectual disability claim, he would have been spared under a 2021 state law.
Nashville’s district attorney, Glenn Funk, contended in 2022 that Black is intellectually disabled and deserves a hearing under that 2021 law, but the judge denied it. That is because an inmate can’t get an intellectual disability hearing under the 2021 law if they have already filed a similar request and a court has ruled on it “on the merits”.Nashville’s district attorney, Glenn Funk, contended in 2022 that Black is intellectually disabled and deserves a hearing under that 2021 law, but the judge denied it. That is because an inmate can’t get an intellectual disability hearing under the 2021 law if they have already filed a similar request and a court has ruled on it “on the merits”.
In Funk’s attempt, he focused on input from an expert for the state in 2004 who determined back then that Black didn’t meet the criteria for what was then called “mental retardation”. But she concluded that Black met the new law’s criteria for a diagnosis of intellectual disability.In Funk’s attempt, he focused on input from an expert for the state in 2004 who determined back then that Black didn’t meet the criteria for what was then called “mental retardation”. But she concluded that Black met the new law’s criteria for a diagnosis of intellectual disability.
Black has also been seeking a determination by the courts that he is incompetent to be executed. Black had also been seeking a determination by the courts that he is incompetent to be executed.