The Tennessee Supreme Court says Byron Black’s execution could proceed amid concerns that medical devices could extend his death.
A US court has determined that the execution of a man with an embedded defibrillator can be advanced despite concerns that the device could lead to a failed execution.
The lawsuit before the Tennessee Supreme Court on Thursday was now linked to death row inmates after his 1988 triple murder conviction.
Black’s execution was delayed several times, but the date was set for August 5th to receive a fatal injection.
However, in July, his defense team argued that the execution would not proceed without first invalidating the Black defibrillator.
Judge Russell Perkins of Davidson County Chance Court previously ruled that the Black defibrillator must be removed prior to enforcement.
However, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the decision, arguing that removing the defibrillator in advance would be a “executive stay.”
A state judge added that the lower court order was invalid because it exceeded its authority.
Kelly Henry, one of Black’s lawyers, said he was looking at his opinion before deciding on the next step.
State lawyers said Wednesday that many healthcare workers view participation in the execution process as a violation of medical ethics, but they are not willing to promote the removal of defibrillators.
The court did not address concerns about whether the possible complications of execution caused by the device could violate Black’s constitutional rights to cruel and unusual punishment. It also left the possibility that Black could still win a reprieve against his execution.
Failed executions have been the subject of debate in the United States for many years. This is one of the few Western countries that still use the death penalty.
Death penalty, performed through methods such as fatal injections or electric shock, is often prone to error and can lead to painful, elicited deaths for the prisoner.
A 2022 report by the Death Penalty Center (DPIC) found that seven of the 22 executions in the US were “visible problems,” including “the incompetentity of the executioner, failure to follow the protocol, or the flaws in the protocol itself.”
According to Amnesty International, the United States executed 24 people in 2023. This is the third highest confirmed execution in the world after Iran and Saudi Arabia. The US also received the fifth-highest number of death sentences, after China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.
A 2024 Gallup poll found that 53% of people in the US still support the death penalty, while 43% disapproved. However, these figures represent some of the lowest levels of support on record, and have dropped significantly over the past decades.
