US murderer with heart defibrillator implant complains of pain during execution
Lawyers for convicted murderer Byron Black had sought prior to his execution to have his defibrillator deactivated, arguing that it could shock his heart back into rhythm while he was being put to death.
WASHINGTON - A convicted murderer with a heart defibrillator complained that he was in pain while being put to death by lethal injection in the southern US state of Tennessee, according to witnesses to the execution.
Byron Black, 69, was executed on Aug 5 at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison for the 1988 murders of his girlfriend, Angela Clay, 29, and her daughters Latoya, nine, and Lakeisha, six.
Black's lawyers had sought prior to his execution to have the defibrillator deactivated, arguing that it could shock his heart back into rhythm while he was being put to death.
A state court ruled in Black's favour in July but was overruled by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Journalists who witnessed the execution said Black lifted his head shortly after the dose of pentobarbital was injected and said 'Oh, it's hurting so bad.'
'I'm so sorry,' they quoted his spiritual adviser, who was in the death chamber, as saying.
Speaking at a press conference following the execution, the witnesses said Black appeared to be in distress but it was not clear if that was because of the lethal drugs or the defibrillator, which also served as a pacemaker.
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There have been 28 executions in the United States this year, the most since 2015, when 28 inmates were also put to death.
Twenty-three of this year's executions have been carried out by lethal injection, two have been by firing squad and three by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a face mask, causing the prisoner to suffocate.
The use of nitrogen gas as a method of capital punishment has been denounced by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane.
Florida has carried out the most executions in 2025 – nine.
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others – California, Oregon and Pennsylvania – have moratoriums in place.
President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment, and on his first day in office called for an expansion of its use 'for the vilest crimes'. AFP
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