{"id":61241,"date":"2025-08-05T22:55:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T22:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/61241\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T22:55:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T22:55:11","slug":"tennessee-executes-man-without-deactivating-implanted-defibrillator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/61241\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee executes man without deactivating implanted defibrillator"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) \u2014 A man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her two young daughters in the 1980s said he was \u201churting so bad\u201d while he was given a lethal injection Tuesday in Tennessee, where authorities had refused to deactivate his implanted defibrillator<\/a> despite claims it might cause unnecessary, painful shocks as the drugs were administered.<\/p>\n

Black\u2019s attorney said they will review data kept by the device as part of an autopsy.<\/p>\n

Black died at 10:43 a.m., prison officials said. It was about 10 minutes after the execution started and Black talked about being in pain. <\/p>\n

Asked for any last words, he replied, \u201cNo sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Relatives<\/p>\n

Relatives of the victims of convicted murderer Byron Black stay in the area reserved for pro-death penalty advocates outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the execution of Black, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/Mark Humphrey)<\/p>\n

Relatives of the victims of convicted murderer Byron Black stay in the area reserved for pro-death penalty advocates outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the execution of Black, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/Mark Humphrey)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Black looked around the room as the execution started, lifting his head off the gurney multiple times, and could be heard sighing and breathing heavily. All seven media witnesses to the execution agreed he appeared to be in discomfort. Throughout the execution, a spiritual advisor prayed and sang over Black, at one point touching his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it\u2019s hurting so bad,\u201d Black said, as he lay with his hands and chest restrained to the gurney, a sheet covering up past his lower half, and an IV line in his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so sorry. Just listen to my voice,\u201d the advisor responded.<\/p>\n

Black was executed after a back-and-forth in court over whether officials would need to turn off his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD. Black, 69, was in a wheelchair, suffering from dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions, his attorneys have said.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center said it\u2019s unaware of any other cases with similar claims to Black\u2019s about ICDs or pacemakers. Black\u2019s attorneys said they haven\u2019t found a comparable case, either.<\/p>\n

Black killed his girlfriend and her 2 daughters <\/p>\n

Black was convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of his girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya Clay, 9, and Lakeisha Clay, 6. Prosecutors said he 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 Clay\u2019s estranged husband.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This undated booking photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Corrections shows Byron Black. (Tennessee Department of Corrections via AP, File)<\/p>\n

This undated booking photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Corrections shows Byron Black. (Tennessee Department of Corrections via AP, File)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Clay\u2019s sister said Black will now face a higher power.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis family is now going through the same thing we went through 37 years ago. I can\u2019t say I\u2019m sorry because we never got an apology,\u201d Linette Bell, Angela Clay\u2019s sister, said in a statement read by a victim\u2019s advocate after the execution.<\/p>\n

Black\u2019s lawyer said the execution was shameful.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, 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,\u201d attorney Kelley Henry said.<\/p>\n

The legal fight over Black\u2019s defibrillator <\/p>\n

In mid-July, a trial court judge agreed with Black\u2019s attorneys that officials must have the defibrillator deactivated<\/a> to avert the risk that it could cause unnecessary pain and prolong the execution. But Tennessee\u2019s Supreme Court overturned that decision Thursday, saying the other judge lacked authority to order the change.<\/p>\n

The state disputed that the lethal injection would cause Black\u2019s defibrillator to shock him and said he wouldn\u2019t feel them regardless.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"India<\/p>\n

India Pungarcher, left, hugs Rev. Ingrid McIntyre as demonstrators gather in the area reserved for anti-death penalty protesters outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the execution of Byron Black Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/Mark Humphrey)<\/p>\n

India Pungarcher, left, hugs Rev. Ingrid McIntyre as demonstrators gather in the area reserved for anti-death penalty protesters outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the execution of Byron Black Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/Mark Humphrey)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Henry said Black\u2019s defense team will carefully review autopsy results, EKG data from Black and information from the defibrillator to determine what exactly happened during the execution. The lethal injection protocol is still being challenged in court.<\/p>\n

She said she was especially concerned about his head movement and complaints of pain because the massive dose of pentobarbital used to kill inmates is supposed to rapidly leave them unconscious.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that he was able to raise his head several times and express pain tells you that the pentobarbital was not acting the way the state\u2019s experts claim it acts,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n

Prison officials did not comment on witnesses and Black\u2019s attorney saying he appeared conscious or his complaints of pain.<\/p>\n

It was Tennessee\u2019s second execution since May<\/a>, after a pause for five years, first because of COVID-19 and then because of missteps<\/a> by state corrections officials.<\/p>\n

Twenty-eight men<\/a> have died by court-ordered execution<\/a> so far this year in the U.S., and nine other people are scheduled to be put to death in seven states during the remainder of 2025. The number of executions this year exceeds the 25 carried out last year and in 2018<\/a>. It is the highest total since 2015, when 28 people were put to death.<\/p>\n

Black\u2019s condition<\/p>\n

Black had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, which is a small, battery-powered electronic device that is surgically implanted in the chest. It served as a pacemaker and an emergency defibrillator. Black\u2019s attorneys have said a doctor can send it a deactivation command without surgery.<\/p>\n

The legal case also spurred a reminder that most medical professionals consider participation in executions<\/a> a violation of health care ethics.<\/p>\n

Intellectual disability claim<\/p>\n

In recent years, Black\u2019s legal team has unsuccessfully tried to get a new hearing about an intellectual disability they say he\u2019s exhibited since childhood. People with intellectual disabilities are constitutionally barred from execution.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Anti-death<\/p>\n

Anti-death penalty demonstrators gather outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the execution of Byron Black Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/Mark Humphrey)<\/p>\n

Anti-death penalty demonstrators gather outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the execution of Byron Black Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/Mark Humphrey)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

His attorneys have said that if they had delayed a prior attempt to seek his intellectual disability claim, he would have been spared under a 2021 state law<\/a>. That is because the 2021 law denies a hearing to people on death row who have already filed a similar request and a court has ruled on it \u201con the merits.\u201d<\/p>\n

A judge denied Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk\u2019s attempt to get Black a new hearing. Funk focused on input from an expert for the state in 2004 who determined back then that Black didn\u2019t meet the criteria for what was then called \u201cmental retardation.\u201d But she concluded that Black met the new law\u2019s criteria for a diagnosis of intellectual disability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) \u2014 A man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her two young daughters in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,45589,13413,3071,793,45593,97,45591,2221,45592,10653,3,2219,45590,2222,795,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-61241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-angela-clay","tag-capital-punishment","tag-crime","tag-general-news","tag-glenn-funk","tag-health","tag-latoya-clay","tag-legal-proceedings","tag-linette-bell","tag-medical-devices","tag-news","tag-tennessee","tag-tennessee-state-government","tag-tn-state-wire","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}