(UPDATE: Tuesday, July 22, 4:00 p.m.) — Davidson County Chancellor Russell T. Perkins has reaffirmed that the injunction to allow the state to turn off Byron Black’s implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (CIED) poses an unacceptable risk of causing a prolonged and torturous execution if left active during the lethal injection process.
To lessen that risk, the judge has modified the injunction and has now authorized the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) to deactivate the device early in the morning of Black’s scheduled execution date, August 5. The procedure is set to take place at Nashville General Hospital.
The Chancellor’s revised memorandum and order are available here…