Governor Lee Releases Findings Of Independent Review Of Lethal Injection Procedures

Image Credit: Senator Ken Yager / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

Last year, Governor Bill Lee halted all executions in Tennessee and called for an independent study of the state’s lethal injection protocols. The findings of that study have been released by the governor’s office.

The review, handled by U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton, found that those in charge of handling lethal injection had failed to follow protocol.  Years’ worth of communication was uncovered regarding issues that ranged from how to secure the necessary drugs to whether the current protocol would keep those being put to death from feeling pain.

Ultimately, however, those communications show that – despite a lack of effective procedures – the state was intent on moving forward with lethal injections. This resulted in a state employee with no medical background being placed in charge of finding the needed drugs. 

Additionally, some of the required testing of the drugs had not been conducted since 2018. There was no evidence found to prove that the state had even informed the pharmacy in charge of testing that all injection drugs must be tested for endotoxins.

The state’s lethal injection protocol did not include any guidelines for safely securing the chemicals, such as maintaining proper temperature or how to thaw the drugs, to keep them from going bad.  

The state has faced criticism of its lethal injection process since switching to a three-drug process after a number of pharmaceutical companies chose not to allow Tennessee to use pentobarbital for inmates on death row.

Text communications between two unidentified state officials showed that they briefly considered purchasing the drug from a veterinarian and even internationally before ultimately deciding to go with the process using other chemicals. 

After releasing the results of the study, Governor Lee also announced a number of proactive steps to make sure that the Tennessee Department of Corrections follows proper protocol going forward:

• Make staffing changes at the department’s leadership level.

• Hire and onboard a permanent TDOC commissioner in January 2023.

• New department leadership will revise the state’s lethal injection protocol, in consultation with the Governor’s office and the Tennessee Attorney General’s office.

• New department leadership will review all training associated with the revised protocol and make appropriate operational updates.

There are currently no executions scheduled for 2023 in Tennessee. The Tennessee Supreme Court is responsible for scheduling those, but it is anticipated that they will continue the pause on those temporarily to allow for challenges to the new execution protocol.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com