Tennessee executes Byron Black as he screams in pain, state refused to deactivate his heart defibrillator
Black was executed by lethal injection at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution for the 1988 murders of his girlfriend, Angela Clay, and her two daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6.
As the lethal drugs began flowing, Black appeared visibly distressed, multiple witnesses reported, according to the Daily Mail.
He was heard sighing heavily and breathing heavily, he then repeatedly lifted his head and told his spiritual advisor, 'It's hurting so bad,' before passing away about ten minutes after the process began.
She then responded: 'I'm so sorry. Just listen to my voice,' before comforting him by singing.
Legal experts say this is the first documented case where an inmate was put to death with an active defibrillator still in place, raising questions about the risk of repeated electrical shocks as his heart failed.
Black's lawyers had long argued that deactivating the device was necessary to prevent unnecessary pain and possible violations of constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
Despite a lower court ruling in their favour, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the decision last week, and both the state's governor and the US Supreme Court refused to intervene, allowing the execution to proceed.
Black's legal team, who had sought clemency based on his intellectual disabilities as well as concerns about prolonged suffering, called the execution a violation of human rights.
Black's longtime attorney Kelly Henry criticised the execution, saying the state 'killed a gentle, kind, fragile, intellectually disabled man in a violation of the laws of our country simply because they could.'
She also maintained that 'no one in a position of power, certainly not the courts, was willing to stop them' even after extensive legal arguments over whether the officials should deactivate his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) prior to the execution.
Meanwhile, Angela Clay's family said the execution brought some measure of closure, nearly four decades after the killings.
Black received the death penalty in 1989 for fatally shooting his girlfriend, Angela Clay, and her two daughters. According to prosecutors, he acted out of jealousy after learning that Clay might reconcile with her estranged husband, Bennie Clay, who Black had already shot the previous year.
At the time of the murders, Black was on work release from a Nashville jail, serving a two-year sentence for the earlier shooting.
After the execution, Clay's sister said that Black would now be judged by a higher power.
'I thank God for making this happen,' Linette Bell, Angela Clay's sister, said in a statement that was read by a victim's advocate.
'His family is now going through the same thing we went through 37 years ago,' she added. 'I can't say I'm sorry because we never got an apology. He never apologised and he never admitted it.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Tennis champion Elina Svitolina speaks out after receiving sickening death threats
WARNING: Disturbing content below. Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has spoken out about the deluge of hateful abuse she received online from frustrated gamblers after losing a match in Canada. The world No.13 received messages including wishing her death and celebrating Russia killing her compatriots. Following her straight-sets loss to Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open on Tuesday, Svitolina posted screenshots of the messages on Instagram. The abuse was directed at her, while other racial slurs also targeted her husband - French tennis player Gael Monfils who is Black. One abuser hoped Russia 'kills all you sh**** Ukrainians' in the war raging in Svitolina's country. Another said: 'I just hope you f****** die tonight,' before adding a comment which is too horrific to publish. The tennis star posted screenshots of several other obscene messages which have no place being published, before speaking out on her Instagram story. 'To all the bettors: I'm a mum before I'm an athlete,' Svitolina wrote. 'The way you talk to women — to mothers — is SHAMEFUL. If your mothers saw your messages, they'd be disgusted.' Earlier this year, British player Katie Boulter said she had received death threats during the French Open targeting her and her family, while the WTA and ITF called on betting companies to do more to stem the flood of online abuse players face on social media. Boulter, the girlfriend of Australian star Alex de Minaur, told the BBC in an interview online abuse has become the norm and she thinks many of the messages are sent by people who are placing bets on tennis matches. Her comments coincided with the WTA and ITF publishing a first season-wide report into online abuse, showing 458 tennis players were targeted by more than 8,000 abusive comments and posts on social media in 2024. The report said 40 per cent of the abuse came from 'angry gamblers'.
Daily Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
‘Hurting so bad': Tennessee death row inmate cries out in pain during lethal injection
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News. A Tennessee death row inmate cried out in pain after authorities refused to deactivate his implanted defibrillator as he was executed for murdering his girlfriend and her two young daughters. Byron Black, 69, was pronounced dead at 10.43am on Tuesday local time, about 10 minutes after receiving a lethal injection at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, according to state correctional officials and as reported by The New York Post. The convicted murderer was put to death despite a legal battle over concerns his heart device would repeatedly shock him once the lethal chemicals spread throughout his body. Get all the latest news happening around the world as it happens — download the app direct to your phone. Byron Black was executed on Tuesday morning local time at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee. Picture: Tennessee Department of Corrections via AP 'Oh, it's hurting so bad,' Black reportedly said as he lay with his hands and chest restrained. Black – who was sentenced to death for the fatal 1988 shootings of Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6 – had no final words before he was strapped to a gurney and given a single dose of barbiturate pentobarbital. His spiritual adviser, who was singing and praying over Black during the execution, told him: 'I'm sorry. Just listen to my voice.' Black's lawyer said a review of the defibrillator will be conducted as part of an autopsy. 'The fact that was he able to raise his head several times and express pain tells you that the pentobarbital was not acting the way that state's experts claim it acts,' Kelley Henry said, adding her client was wheelchair-bound and also suffering from dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions. 'Today, the state of Tennessee killed a gentle, kind, fragile, intellectually disabled man in a violation of the laws of our country simply because they could.' Angela Clay was murdered in her Nashville home by Black, along with her two daughters. Picture: Supplied Ms Henry had earlier unsuccessfully argued that Black shouldn't be put to death due to his apparent intellectual disability. A trial judge ruled last month that officials must deactivate Black's cardioverter-defibrillator – a small, battery-powered electronic instrument implanted in his chest – to prevent unnecessary pain and avoid prolonging the execution. Ms Henry said the device could be disabled with a handheld machine. But Tennessee's Supreme Court overturned that decision last Thursday, ruling that the lower-court judge lacked the authority to issue that order. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee also announced this week he would not show Black any leniency. Family members of the victims said they 'can't say (we're) sorry because we never got an apology'. Picture: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey Prosecutors said Black was in a jealous rage when he shot his three victims at their house. He committed the murders when he was on work-release while serving time for shooting and wounding Ms Clay's estranged husband. 'His family is now going through the same thing we went through 37 years ago,' Ms Clay's sister, Linette Bell, said in a statement that was read after Black was pronounced dead. 'I can't say I'm sorry because we never got an apology.' Black's execution was the second carried out in Tennessee since May, ending a five-year hiatus in the state's use of capital punishment. He also becomes the 28th person executed in the US this year – the highest annual total since 2015. This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission Originally published as 'Hurting so bad': Tennessee death row inmate cries out in pain during lethal injection
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Hurting so bad': Tennessee death row inmate cries out in pain during lethal injection
A Tennessee death row inmate cried out in pain after authorities refused to deactivate his implanted defibrillator as he was executed for murdering his girlfriend and her two young daughters. Byron Black, 69, was pronounced dead at 10.43am on Tuesday local time, about 10 minutes after receiving a lethal injection at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, according to state correctional officials and as reported by The New York Post. The convicted murderer was put to death despite a legal battle over concerns his heart device would repeatedly shock him once the lethal chemicals spread throughout his body. 'Oh, it's hurting so bad,' Black reportedly said as he lay with his hands and chest restrained. Black – who was sentenced to death for the fatal 1988 shootings of Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6 – had no final words before he was strapped to a gurney and given a single dose of barbiturate pentobarbital. His spiritual adviser, who was singing and praying over Black during the execution, told him: 'I'm sorry. Just listen to my voice.' Black's lawyer said a review of the defibrillator will be conducted as part of an autopsy. 'The fact that was he able to raise his head several times and express pain tells you that the pentobarbital was not acting the way that state's experts claim it acts,' Kelley Henry said, adding her client was wheelchair-bound and also suffering from dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions. 'Today, the state of Tennessee killed a gentle, kind, fragile, intellectually disabled man in a violation of the laws of our country simply because they could.' Ms Henry had earlier unsuccessfully argued that Black shouldn't be put to death due to his apparent intellectual disability. A trial judge ruled last month that officials must deactivate Black's cardioverter-defibrillator – a small, battery-powered electronic instrument implanted in his chest – to prevent unnecessary pain and avoid prolonging the execution. Ms Henry said the device could be disabled with a handheld machine. But Tennessee's Supreme Court overturned that decision last Thursday, ruling that the lower-court judge lacked the authority to issue that order. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee also announced this week he would not show Black any leniency. Prosecutors said Black was in a jealous rage when he shot his three victims at their house. He committed the murders when he was on work-release while serving time for shooting and wounding Ms Clay's estranged husband. 'His family is now going through the same thing we went through 37 years ago,' Ms Clay's sister, Linette Bell, said in a statement that was read after Black was pronounced dead. 'I can't say I'm sorry because we never got an apology.' Black's execution was the second carried out in Tennessee since May, ending a five-year hiatus in the state's use of capital punishment. He also becomes the 28th person executed in the US this year – the highest annual total since 2015.
