Latest news with #GovBillLee
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Tennessee Death Row Inmate Makes Last-Ditch Effort to Prevent Aug. 5 Execution
Attorneys for a Tennessee death row inmate have launched a last-ditch effort to prevent his August 5 execution. In Nashville's Chancery Court, they are asking a judge to require the Tennessee Department of Correction to deactivate an implanted defibrillation device similar to a pacemaker in the moments before Byron Black's execution. If the judge rules in their favor, such an order could potentially delay the execution until the state finds someone willing to do the deactivation. Meanwhile, at the state Supreme Court level, they want judges to order a lower court to consider their claim that Black is incompetent to be executed. The attorneys also have filed a general challenge to the state's new execution protocol, but with a trial scheduled for 2026, any ruling there will come too late for Black. 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 all 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 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. In a new twist on the same theme, his attorneys now argue that the court should consider Black's competence to be executed under older English common law standards. The state counters that Black does not meet the criteria for incompetency because he understands his conviction, his pending execution, and the relation between the two. Separately, Black's attorneys are asking a different court to rule that his implanted cardioverter-defibrillator must be deactivated just before the execution. They suggest that otherwise the device will continually try to restart his heart, prolonging the execution and causing Black to suffer unnecessarily. Because most medical professionals are unwilling to participate in executions–considering it a violation of medical ethics–it could potentially be time-consuming and difficult to find someone willing to deactivate the device in order to kill Black more easily. A hearing on the motion is set for July 14.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Teens Guilty of Bullying Could Lose Drivers' Licenses Under Tennessee Law
Teenagers in Tennessee who are found guilty of bullying or cyberbullying could have their drivers' licenses suspended for a year under a new state law that went into effect on Tuesday. Supporters hope the law will deter young people from bullying by letting them know they could lose a coveted privilege. But critics questioned whether it would actually make teenagers think twice about their behavior. 'Certainly what we know from adolescent development is adolescents don't necessarily connect long-term consequences with their behavior in the moment,' said Susan M. Swearer, chairwoman of the department of educational psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a director of the Bullying Research Network. Research shows psychological interventions are more effective than punishment at stopping bullying, she said. State Representative Lowell Russell, a Republican who sponsored the legislation in the Tenneseee House, said he got the idea from a constituent whose son was being bullied in school and who felt the school was not taking action to stop it. Mr. Russell said he was also disturbed by news reports of bullying victims growing up to commit acts of violence or dying by suicide. 'My hope is it will save lives and prevent people from getting hurt because when they're bullied in the K-to-12 grades, that has long-term mental health effects,' Mr. Russell said. Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed the bill into law in April after the Tennessee House passed it by a vote of 85 to 10 and the State Senate by a vote of 26 to 0. It expands on a measure that Tenneseee lawmakers passed last year that defined bullying and cyberbullying as distinct offenses under the state's laws against harassment. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
