Judge orders Tennessee to turn off inmate's heart-regulating implanted device at execution
The order by Nashville Chancellor Russell Perkins comes ahead of the Aug. 5 execution of Byron Black. Black's attorneys have said that the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator could shock him in an attempt to restore his heart's normal rhythm after the single dose of pentobarbital, with the potential for multiple rounds of shocks and extreme pain and suffering.
The order requires the state to deactivate the device moments before administering the lethal injection, including having medical or certified technician professionals, plus equipment, on hand. The lower-court judge said the order will not serve to delay the execution, something he said he does not have the authority to do. He also said it doesn't add an undue administrative or logistical burden for the state.
Black's attorneys say the only surefire way to shut off the device is for a doctor to place a programming device over the implant site, sending it a deactivation command. It is unclear how quickly the state could find a medical professional willing to do the deactivation. Additionally, the state is almost certain to file a quick appeal.
The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is a small, battery-powered electronic instrument that is surgically implanted in someone's chest, usually near the left collarbone. Black's was inserted in May 2024. It serves as a pacemaker and an emergency defibrillator. At a two-day hearing this week, experts offered clashing testimony on how it would act during the execution and what Black could feel if he is shocked.
Attorneys for the state deemed it highly unlikely that the pentobarbital would trigger the device's defibrillating function, and if it did, they say he would be unconscious and unaware, and unable to perceive pain. The state also said the lower-court judge lacked authority to order the device disabled.
Black's attorneys say the state is relying on studies that confuse unawareness with unresponsiveness. The inmate's team says research shows pentobarbital renders people unresponsive and causes them to experience amnesia after they undergo an operation, but it doesn't make them unaware or unable to feel pain..
Kelley Henry, an attorney for Black, said she is relieved by the ruling.
'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,' Henry said in a statement. 'Today's ruling averts that torturous outcome.'
A Tennessee attorney general's office spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday evening. Its previous filings say Black is trying to further delay justice for brutal murders.
Black was convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6. Prosecutors said Black was in a jealous rage when he shot the three at their home. At the time, Black was on work-release while serving time for shooting and wounding Clay's estranged husband.
Black has already seen three execution dates come and go, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and a pause on executions from Gov. Bill Lee after the Department of Correction was found to not be testing the execution drugs for potency and purity as required. Black's execution would be the second one under a pentobarbital protocol released in December.
Black is intellectually disabled, attorneys say
Black's attorneys have previously tried and failed to show that he should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled, and that would violate the state's Constitution.
The state Supreme Court recently declined to order a hearing over whether he is incompetent to be executed. A U.S. Supreme Court effort remains pending.
Black's legal team has filed a request for the governor to commute his sentence to life in prison. The letter asking for clemency says Black suffered from prenatal alcohol exposure and exposure to toxic lead as a toddler, compounding lifelong cognitive and developmental impairments.
The 69-year-old is now in a wheelchair, suffering from dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions, the clemency letter says.
Additionally, the clemency request says if he had delayed filing his intellectual disability claim, he would have been spared under a 2021 state law.
Black's motion related to his heart device came within a general challenge he and other death row inmates filed against the state's new execution protocol. The trial isn't until 2026.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump posts bizarre meme comparing Obama to infamous OJ Simpson episode
President Donald Trump has posted a bizarre meme of himself and Vice President JD Vance chasing down Barack Obama in a recreation OJ Simpson 's infamous 1994 police chase. In the picture, Obama drives a white Ford Bronco, trailed closely by six police cars. In the two closest cars, Trump is pictured in the driver's seat of one, with Vance in the other. While Trump is all smiles in his photo, he has chosen a less flattering picture of his VP, with Vance depicted as bloated and with long curly hair. Vance didn't take the unflattering picture to heart, sharing the meme to his own X account and adding a laughing emoji. The post he shared read 'look closer at JD's face. No way!' Trump offered no explanation for the meme, but it came amid his latest attack on Obama in an effort to shift criticism of his handling of the Epstein files onto his predecessors. He has repeatedly tried to distance his administration from his campaign promise to release Epstein's client list and investigate his cause of death after Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed no such list exists and confirmed he did die by suicide. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also released a declassified report allegedly implicating Obama and his administration of 2016 election interference that accused Trump of colluding with Moscow. Trump has accused Obama of treason, while Obama issued a statement denying any allegations. His latest post was a bizarre reference to a famous picture of retired NFL star Simpson, who at the time was accused of killing his ex-wife and her friend. Simpson was sensationally acquitted of the alleged murders during what was dubbed the 'trial of the century.' The decision is still considered controversial 30 years later. Trump's fixation on Obama's alleged crimes came after being asked yet another question about Jeffrey Epstein – a matter that is itself so explosive that House Republican leaders sent members home on recess, thereby avoiding a difficult vote on the issue. 'I don't follow it too much,' he said of the Epstein matter, before immediately turning the tables on Obama. Trump went on to share an AI generated video of Obama wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and sitting down inside his cell. Even as Trump tries to paint Obama as a criminal, the Supreme Court ruled in a monumental 2024 decision that the President of the United States has immunity from prosecution for official acts in office, in a case argued by lawyers on Trump's behalf. Trump was asked if 'presidential immunity' would apply to Obama before his trip to Scotland on Friday and the president didn't deny it, going as far as to say he'd done his predecessor a favor. 'He has done criminal acts, no question about it. But he has immunity and it probably helps him a lot. He owes me big. Obama owes me big,' Trump said. The ex-president's team argued in late 2023 that Trump, and any president, must have absolute immunity from prosecution over actions taken while in office or it could impair important decision-making. The 6-3 decision split along the court's ideological lines ensures that Trump will not face another blockbuster trial anytime soon - with the case sent back to a lower court to determine what is considered his 'official' versus 'unofficial' acts. Obama spoke out about the case via his spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush earlier this week, refuting many of the accusations circling around him. 'The bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,' Rodenbush noted. 'These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio,' Rodenbush concluded. GOP leadership in both the House and Senate are pursuing investigations into members of the Biden and Obama administrations as they fend off clamoring calls for transparency in the Epstein scandal enveloping the Trump administration. Democrats have portrayed the reintroduction of the 'Russian hoax' saga as a way for the Trump Administration to distract from the demands around Epstein. Trump has repeatedly shared outrageous memes since his return to the White House, including making himself the Pope after the death of Pope Francis and sharing an AI video of his vision for Gaza complete with bizarre bearded belly dancers and a statue of himself.
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Marcus Morris Sr's brother and agent slam NBA star's 'insane' arrest 'real' reasons he was detained
The twin brother of NBA free agent Marcus Morris Sr. and the player's agent are disputing the reason for his shocking arrest in Florida on Sunday. Morris was arrested at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. According to arrest records in Broward County, Morris is being held on a charge of Fraud - Writing a Check With Insufficient Funds. But hours after the arrest, Morris' brother Markieff posted an angry statement on X, formerly Twitter: 'The wording is crazy. Damn for that amount of money they'll embarrass you in the airport with your family,' the post read. 'They could have came to the crib for all that. 'When y'all hear the real story on this s**t man. All I can say is Lesson learned. Bro will tell y'all tomorrow. This weird shit gave me a headache. Can't stop nothin!' Nearly half an hour later, Yony Noy - who represents both brothers - posted a statement of his own: 'Just so everyone understands this is zero fraud here or whatever crap outlets have said regarding fake checks or whatever the hell. This is due to an outstanding marker with a casino. Apparently if you have over $1,200 they can issue a warrant for your arrest. Absolute insanity!' A source told Daily Mail that the casino in question is in Las Vegas. According to the websites of multiple law firms, in the state of Nevada, an unpaid marker is treated as the equivalent of writing a bad check. Failing to pay a marker is treated as a class D felony and carries a penalty of fines and up to four years in prison. The Broward County Sheriff's Office did not immediately return a request for comment from Marcus has had a 13-year NBA career, beginning when the Houston Rockets selected him 14th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. He would go on to play for the Rockets, the Phoenix Suns, the Detroit Pistons, the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks, and the Los Angeles Clippers. Most recently, he played the 2023-24 season with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This incident is not Marcus' first run-in with the law. In 2012, he was arrested in Lawrence, Kansas on a battery charge after he and another person punched a bar employee while watching a Kansas-Missouri basketball game. Marcus entered a diversion agreement, paid a $300 diversion fee, and $60 in court fees. He also agreed to not come in contact with the victim or the bar for one year. At the time the diversion agreement was made, the prosecutor said that the case would be dismissed if Morris fulfilled the terms and remained 'out of trouble' during the 12 month period. Three years later, Marcus, Markeiff, Baltimore Ravens safety Gerald Bowman, and two other assailants were arrested in connection with the assault of 36-year-old Eric Hood in Arizona. Both Marcus and Markeiff were playing on the Phoenix Suns at the time. Hood, who had mentored the Morris twins, was allegedly 'sending an inappropriate text message' to the twins' mother. After a trial, the twins and Bowman were found not guilty while the other two assailants confessed.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Epstein furor undermines public trust, Republican election hopes, two US lawmakers say
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - The uproar over disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could undermine public trust in the Trump administration, as well as Republican hopes of retaining control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, two U.S. lawmakers said on Sunday. Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who want the House of Representatives to vote on their bipartisan resolution requiring full release of the government's Epstein files, said the lack of transparency is reinforcing public perceptions that the rich and powerful live beyond the reach of the judicial system. "This is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms. The voters will be apathetic if we don't hold the rich and powerful accountable," Massie, a hardline conservative from Kentucky, told NBC's "Meet the Press" program. Republicans hope to add to their current 219-212 House majority - with four seats currently vacant - and 53-47 Senate majority in November 2026, although the U.S. political cycle traditionally punishes the party of the sitting president during midterm elections. The Washington Post reported late on Sunday that Trump was increasingly frustrated with his administration's handling of the furor around Epstein. Even so, the president was hesitant to make personnel changes to avoid creating a "bigger spectacle" as his top officials underestimated the outrage from Trump's own base over the issue, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources. Khanna said Attorney General Pam Bondi triggered "a crisis of trust" by saying there was no list of Epstein clients after previously implying that one existed. The change in position unleashed a tsunami of calls for her resignation from Trump's MAGA base. "This is about trust in government," the California Democrat told "Meet the Press." "This is about being a reform agent of transparency." President Donald Trump, who on Sunday announced an EU trade deal in Scotland, has been frustrated by continued questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and 2019 death by suicide in prison. Massie and Khanna believe they can win enough support from fellow lawmakers to force a vote on their resolution when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. But they face opposition from Republican leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent lawmakers home a day early to stymie Democratic efforts to force a vote before the break. Johnson, who also appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he favors a non-binding alternative resolution that calls for release of "credible" evidence, but which he said would better protect victims including minors. "The Massie and Khanna discharge petition is reckless in the way that it is drafted and presented," Johnson said. "It does not adequately include those protections." Massie dismissed Johnson's claim as "a straw man" excuse. "Ro and I carefully crafted this legislation so that the victims' names will be redacted," he said. "They're hiding behind that." Trump has tried and failed so far to distract attention from the Epstein controversy six months into his second term. On Saturday, Trump repeated his claims without evidence that 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and other Democrats should be prosecuted over payment for endorsements from celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce and the Reverend Al Sharpton. Last week he accused former President Barack Obama of "treason" over how the Obama administration treated intelligence about Russian interference in U.S. elections nine years ago, drawing a rebuke from an Obama spokesperson. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, said on Sunday that Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, had found new information that investigators initially discovered no evidence of Russian election interference but changed their position after Obama told them to keep looking. "I'm not alleging he committed treason, but I am saying it bothers me," Graham told "Meet the Press." Democratic Representative Jason Crow dismissed Gabbard's claims, telling the "Fox News Sunday" program that the national intelligence director had turned herself into "a weapon of mass distraction." The Department of Justice has said it is forming a strike force to assess Gabbard's claims.
