An inmate executed by the state of Tennessee reportedly cried out in pain shortly after the lethal injection began, with witnesses claiming he was “hurting so bad” despite an implanted defibrillator remaining active. Byron Black’s death has sparked controversy, as he was put to death amid uncertainty over whether the device would shock his heart as the lethal chemicals took effect.
Prison officials confirmed Black died at 10:43 a.m., approximately 10 minutes after the execution commenced. Asked for any last words, he replied, “No sir.” As the process began, Black was observed looking around the room, lifting his head off the gurney multiple times, sighing and breathing heavily. All seven media witnesses present agreed he appeared to be in discomfort. A spiritual advisor prayed and sang over Black throughout the execution, at one point touching his face.
“Oh, it’s hurting so bad,” Black was heard to say, restrained to the gurney with an IV line in his arm. The advisor responded, “I’m so sorry. Just listen to my voice.”
The execution proceeded despite a protracted legal battle over whether officials should have deactivated his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Black, 69, was in a wheelchair and suffered from numerous severe health conditions, including dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, and congestive heart failure, according to his attorneys. A trial court judge had initially agreed with Black’s legal team that the defibrillator should be deactivated to prevent unnecessary pain and prolonging the execution. However, Tennessee’s Supreme Court overturned this decision, stating the lower court lacked authority. The state had argued that the lethal injection would not cause the defibrillator to shock him, or that he would not feel it if it did.
Black’s attorney, Kelley Henry, condemned the execution, stating: “Today, the state of Tennessee killed a gentle, kind, fragile, intellectually disabled man in a violation of the laws of our country simply because they could.” Ms Henry expressed particular concern over Black’s head movement and complaints of pain, noting that the massive dose of pentobarbital used in lethal injections is intended to induce rapid unconsciousness. “The fact that he was able to raise his head several times and express pain tells you that the pentobarbital was not acting the way the state’s experts claim it acts,” she added. Prison officials have not commented on the witnesses’ observations or Black’s complaints of pain. Ms Henry confirmed that Black’s defence team would meticulously review autopsy results, EKG data, and information from the defibrillator to ascertain the precise events during the execution.
Black was convicted for the 1988 shooting deaths of his girlfriend, Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6. Prosecutors alleged he acted in a jealous rage, having been on work-release at the time, serving a sentence for shooting Ms Clay’s estranged husband. Linette Bell, Angela Clay’s sister, stated after the execution: “His family is now going through the same thing we went through 37 years ago. I can’t say I’m sorry because we never got an apology.”
Black’s legal team had previously made unsuccessful attempts to secure a new hearing regarding his intellectual disability, which they contend he has exhibited since childhood. Individuals with intellectual disabilities are constitutionally barred from execution in the US. His attorneys argued that a delay in an earlier attempt to raise this claim would have spared him under a 2021 state law, which denies hearings to death row inmates who have already had a similar request ruled upon “on the merits.” Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk’s attempt to secure a new hearing for Black was denied, despite an expert who had previously determined Black did not meet the criteria for “mental retardation” in 2004, now concluding he met the new law’s criteria for an intellectual disability diagnosis.
The non-profit Death Penalty Information Centre and Black’s attorneys have stated they are unaware of any other cases involving similar claims regarding implanted defibrillators or pacemakers during executions. The legal case also served as a reminder that most medical professionals consider participation in executions a violation of healthcare ethics. This marks Tennessee’s second execution since May, following a five-year hiatus due to Covid-19 and state corrections officials’ missteps. So far this year, 28 individuals have been executed by court order in the US, surpassing the 25 carried out last year and in 2018, and representing the highest total since 2015.
