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Nashville Inmate Executed Despite Defibrillator Concerns
Byron Black, 69, was executed by lethal injection this morning at 10:43 a.m. at a Tennessee prison. His execution proceeded despite ongoing legal challenges concerning his implanted defibrillator.
Witnesses reported Black saying, “It hurts so bad,” shortly after the lethal injection began. He was also seen looking around the room, sighing, and breathing heavily.
Black’s attorneys had argued that the device should be deactivated prior to the execution, fearing it might malfunction and cause unnecessary pain. A trial court judge initially agreed, but the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the ruling, asserting the judge lacked the authority to order the change.
The state maintained that the lethal injection drugs wouldn’t cause the defibrillator to activate and that Black wouldn’t feel any shocks even if it did. The U.S.
Supreme Court denied Black’s final appeal on Monday, and Governor Bill Lee refused to intervene.
Black was sentenced to death for the 1988 murders of his girlfriend, Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6. Prosecutors said the murders were committed in a jealous rage. At the time, Black was on work-release while serving a sentence for shooting Clay’s estranged husband.
This marks Tennessee’s second execution since resuming the practice in May following a five-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and procedural reviews. Black’s case raises novel legal questions regarding the use of medical devices during executions. The Death Penalty Information Center reports no other known cases involving similar claims about ICDs or pacemakers.
Black’s legal team also unsuccessfully argued that he was intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty, citing a 2021 state law. While Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk supported Black’s claim, a judge denied the request because Black had already filed a similar claim that had been ruled on previously.
This execution brings the total number of executions in the U.S. this year to 28, the highest since 2015. Eight more executions are scheduled in seven states for the remainder of 2025.