Tennessee Prisoner Execution Sparks National Controversy Over Death Penalty Processes

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –

After issuing a stay of all executions in 2020 over concerns about the state’s lethal injection protocols, Governor Bill Lee did not intervene in the execution of death row inmate Byron Black on August 5, causing uproar from anti-death penalty advocates.

Black, 69, was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend and her two daughters aged 6 and 9 in 1988. His attorneys filed numerous appeals to have his sentence commuted to life in prison, arguing Black’s “intellectual disability” would make him ineligible for the death penalty in a new trial under current state standards. 

They also expressed concerns over the lethal injection’s effect on Black’s implanted defibrillator which they claimed could cause a prolonged or painful death by shocking him repeatedly, causing the case to gain national attention as anti-death penalty advocates, including Black’s son, Samson Childs, began petitioning Gov. Lee to commute the sentence.

Though a lower court initially ordered the medical device to be deactivated, the Tennessee Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) overturned that decision on the grounds that deactivating the device would interfere with the execution, thereby exceeding the lower court’s power. 

The higher courts’ rulings also cited an unwillingness of medical professionals to facilitate the procedure whether Black was transported to a hospital or medical personnel came to the jail to perform the deactivation, as medical personnel claimed it is a breach of their medical ethics to participate in an execution, despite the fact such personnel are required to administer the lethal injections.

Additionally, SCOTUS denied all of Black’s pending appeals, including the petition for a stay of execution on grounds of intellectual disability. 

In response to the courts’ rulings, Gov. Lee issued a statement on the evening before the execution announcing his intent to let the sentence proceed.

“The courts have universally determined that it is lawful to carry out the jury’s sentence of execution given to Mr. Black for the heinous murders of Angela Clay and her daughters Lakeisha, age 6, and Latoya, age 9. Accordingly, I do not plan to intervene,” he said.  

Now, reports are circulating claiming Black “cried out in pain” after receiving his lethal injection on Aug. 5 and his attorney says he was “tortured”, despite being unable to confirm to any degree whether his body’s reaction to the drug itself or the defibrillator was potentially causing discomfort.

Reportedly, approximately three minutes after Black received the lethal dose of pentobarbital, he lifted his head off the gurney and moaned, “Oh, it’s hurting so bad,” and groaned again two minutes later before being pronounced dead roughly 13 minutes after being injected.

His attorney said the “State of Tennessee killed a gentle, kind, fragile, intellectually disabled man,” and “heartlessly and intentionally traumatized a second family. A family that matters. A family that is devastated.”

Meanwhile, members of the victims’ family were grateful for the sentence’s finality. “I thank God for this day, a day that was a long time coming. This was 37 years too late,” a family statement read.

Tennessee’s Attorney General weighed in on the issue, stating the claims of torture by Black’s attorney were contradictory and inconsistent, especially as she previously joined legal crusades to force Tennessee to switch to the drug by which Black was executed. 

“Byron Black, represented by Kelley Henry, sued Tennessee demanding execution by pentobarbital. That undermines Henry’s claim today that Black’s execution by pentobarbital was torture. Every death is a cause for sorrow, but Byron Black’s lawful death came with a spiritual advisor at hand and a method of execution chosen to minimize his discomfort,” he wrote.  “That is far more consideration than he afforded six-year-old Lakeisha Clay who bled out during an agonizing crawl toward the room where her nine-year-old sister Latoya lay dying and her mother Angela was already dead by Black’s hand. Courts repeatedly rejected Black’s dozen attempts to avoid his sentence and today, after thirty-seven years, the jury’s verdict was finally carried out.”

Several Tennessee political commentators expressed their thoughts on the national responses critiquing Tennessee’s processes and the death penalty overall, including Matt Walsh and Michael Knowles, both conservative Christians.

Walsh minced no words, outright stating, “He killed a woman and two kids. I’m glad he felt pain. That’s called justice.”

Knowles’ view focused more on the length of time Black spent avoiding the sentence, writing, “The man murdered his girlfriend and her two daughters in 1988. What kind of nation postpones justice for almost four decades?”

Black’s execution is the second to be performed since the Governor ordered an investigation and revisions to the state’s lethal injection protocol in 2020. The first was of Oscar Smith in May of this year who was convicted of the 1989 murders of his estranged wife and her two teenage sons. 

According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections, there are currently 43 inmates on death row, 42 males and one female.

Per the Death Penalty Information Center, Tennessee has one execution scheduled for the remainder of 2025, that of inmate Harold Nichols, 65, convicted of first degree murder in 1990. Nichols’ execution is currently set for December 11, and no executions are scheduled for 2026 or 2027 at the time of this writing.

About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.