A death-row inmate is scheduled to be executed in Tennessee on Tuesday in what is believed to be the first time a man has been put to death with a working defibrillator in his chest.
Byron Black, 69, will be given a lethal injection after a legal battle about whether the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator will shock his heart when the drug takes effect potentially causing him unnecessary pain.
Governor Bill Lee declined Monday to grant a reprieve to Black after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his appeals, clearing the way for the execution.
Why It Matters
The nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center said it is unaware of any other cases in which a person on death row made similar claims to Black’s about defibrillators or pacemakers. Black’s attorneys said they haven’t found a comparable case, either.
His execution would be the second in Tennessee since May, after none were carried out for five years. Twenty-seven men have died by court-ordered executions in the U.S. this year; another nine are scheduled to be put to death in seven states for the remainder of 2025. It is the highest total since 2015.
What To Know
Black was convicted of the 1988 fatal shootings of his girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Lakeisha, age 6, and Latoya, age 9. At the time, Black was on work-release while serving time for shooting Clay’s estranged husband, Bennie Clay.
Black’s case arrived a year after Alabama carried out the nation’s—and likely the world’s—first nitrogen gas execution, marking a new chapter in the methods of administering the death penalty.
The American Medical Association considers direct medical participation in executions a violation of health care ethics, further complicating procedures involving inmates with complex health considerations like Black.
Black is in a wheelchair, and he has dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions, his attorneys have said.
The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator he has is a small, battery-powered electronic device that is surgically implanted in the chest. It serves as a pacemaker and an emergency defibrillator. Black’s attorneys say in order to be sure it’s off, a doctor must place a programming device over the implant site, sending it a deactivation command, with no surgery required.
The state has disputed claims the lethal injection could cause the defibrillator to shock Black, and said even if it did, he wouldn’t feel it.
Black’s attorneys said even if the lethal drug pentobarbital renders someone unresponsive, they aren’t necessarily unaware or unable to feel pain.
After a lower court ruled in July that officials must have Black’s device deactivated before his execution, his lawyer, Kelley Henry, told The Tennessean: “It’s horrifying to think about this frail old man being shocked over and over as the device attempts to restore his heart’s rhythm even as the state works to kill him. Today’s ruling averts that torturous outcome.”
However, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the lower court order, saying the other judge lacked the authority to order the change. That ruling was backed up by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Black’s legal team has also unsuccessfully tried to get a new hearing over whether he is intellectually disabled and ineligible for the death penalty.
What People Are Saying
In a statement Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said: “Courts have universally determined that it is lawful to carry out the jury’s sentence of execution given to Mr. Black for the heinous murders of Angela Clay and her daughters Lakeisha, age 6, and Latoya, age 9.”
Linette Bell, sister and aunt to the victims, told WKRN-TV: “He didn’t have mercy on them, so why should we have mercy on him?”
What Happens Next
Barring last-minute intervention by state or federal courts, Tennessee will move ahead with Black’s execution.
The article includes copy from The Associated Press.
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