A county court ordered the Tennessee Department of Correction to disable Byron Black’s heart implant the day of his execution, Aug. 5, for fear the device would dole out painful shocks and try to revive him as he died. Lawyers representing the agency said it couldn’t obey the order because there was only one provider available, Nashville General Hospital, and its medical team wouldn’t comply with the order’s detailed timeline.
The hospital now says it never agreed to deactivate the device at all.
“Any assertion the hospital would participate in the procedure was premature,” reads a statement sent to WPLN News from spokesperson Cathy Poole…