Tennessee's new death penalty drug sparks concerns ahead of first scheduled execution in years
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee hasn't executed an inmate on death row since early 2020, but now the new drug meant to restart the death penalty is raising new red flags among critics.
Gov. Bill Lee paused all executions in April 2022 after discovering issues with the state's death penalty protocol and the drugs it used in executions. He ordered the Tennessee Department of Correction to create a new death penalty protocol, which was completed in December 2024.
However, critics like Stacy Rector, executive director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty have argued the new protocol is even worse than before.
RELATED | Death row inmates sue state over new lethal injection protocol
'Tennessee struggled with the drugs that were previously being used and has now switched to one that is also problematic,' Rector said.
Tennessee chose pentobarbital, a single drug commonly used to treat insomnia in humans, as its new lethal injection drug. In higher doses, it can be fatal. Several states, and formerly the federal government, have used it to execute inmates since around 2010.
However, the drug is controversial. This past January, the U.S. Department of Justice ditched the drug after a years-long investigation rose concerns pentobarbital could cause 'unnecessary pain and suffering.'
According to Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, some people put to death with pentobarbital experienced pulmonary edema, which causes the sensation of drowning and pain.
SEE ALSO | Tennessee's new death penalty protocol: What's different
'The pentobarbital did not adequately anesthetize these individuals, so they were experiencing this sensation of being water boarded, and that, according to the DOJ, is a violation of the 8th Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment,' Rector said.
Several Tennessee death row inmates are now suing the state over its new death penalty protocol. In the lawsuit, they argued pentobarbital has been shown to 'pose a high risk of a torturous death.'
'It's riskier now, and this risk is not simply theoretical, folks,' Kelley J. Henry, a supervisory assistant federal public defender, said. 'They make it seem as if a lethal injection is a medical procedure. It's not. It's poison.'
In addition, some expressed concerns if something were to go wrong during an execution under the new protocol, the public likely wouldn't find out because the new protocol is more secretive than the last.
'I think all citizens, regardless of your opinions of the death penalty, should have deep concern about the government shielding itself from accountability from the public this way,' Rector said.
Death row inmate Oscar Smith will be the first prisoner executed under the state's new protocol on Thursday, May 22. Smith brutally murdered his estranged wife, Judy Robird Smith, and her sons Chad Burnett and Jason Burnett in Nashville on Oct. 1, 1989.
Inmates whose crimes were committed before Jan. 1, 1999, can choose between the lethal injection and the electric chair under Tennessee law.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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