Tennessee is preparing for what might be one of the most controversial executions in the state’s history. The state has to carry out a rare and medically complex execution of Byron Black. He is a 68-year-old death row inmate with serious health issues and wears an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).
The state’s Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s order to disable Black’s ICD. Black’s legal team had argued that it could inflict unnecessary agony by repeatedly shocking his heart during lethal injection. But the state supreme court has determined that he can be executed while the device remains active.
Black was convicted in 1989. He was accused of the murders of his girlfriend and her two young daughters in 1988 and was found guilty. He was given a death sentence.
Black now suffers from heart failure, dementia, end-stage kidney disease, and intellectual disability and uses a wheelchair. His attorneys had previously filed a petition to deactivate the device immediately before the execution to avoid any potential agony and pain, which they had won.
After consideration, that order was later modified to allow deactivation at a hospital on the morning of his execution, which is scheduled for August 5, 2025. However, everything took a dramatic turn when Nashville General Hospital issued a statement denying any such agreement to deactivate the device.
Since Nashville was the only hospital quoted in the initial statement, there can be no other hospital that can perform this function.
PLEASE READ THIS.
Medical professionals, doctors, nurses, and now the Nashville General hospital are complicating this week’s execution in Tennessee. And it is awesome.
The backdrop is that Byron Black, set to be executed on August 5, has an implanted defibrillator that could… pic.twitter.com/YlvZVRQnYn
— Shane Claiborne (@ShaneClaiborne) August 1, 2025
Hospital spokesperson Cathy Poole said the facility “has no role in state executions.” She also clarified that Tennessee prison officials had failed to properly coordinate with the hospital through official channels. This disclosure has now cast a shadow on whether even the revised court order can be fulfilled.
The Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) and the state’s attorney general have since filed appeals in the Tennessee Supreme Court. They are seeking to completely overturn the deactivation requirement.
Officials have argued that transporting Black to a hospital poses too great a security risk. It will potentially endanger the staff, the public, and even Black himself. There are protestors and supporters alike, and it could become a logistical nightmare.
Black’s legal team has characterized the situation as ethically wrong. His attorney, Kelley Henry, has warned that it could result in a “grotesque spectacle.” He has also pointed towards the possibility that the ICD may repeatedly fire during the injection.
“A death row prisoner in Tennessee can be executed despite having an implanted heart device his lawyers say is likely to prolong his suffering… defenders say Byron Black is intellectually disabled & wouldn’t be on death row under modern legal standards…” https://t.co/Snh2lMJh5Q pic.twitter.com/LWoMvcwuCZ
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) August 3, 2025
He also added that due to this, pentobarbital could perhaps render him unconscious, but it will not make him insensible to pain. The team has argued that such suffering is a breach of both Eighth Amendment protections and international human rights norms.
This case has raised several unprecedented questions. Can a person be lawfully executed while machinery continues to sustain or reactivate bodily systems? Are medical facilities obligated to assist with executions where devices designed to preserve life are involved? This is so because major medical societies consistently oppose participation in executions. It is pointing to deeply rooted ethical concerns.
Moreover, there is another claim that Black is intellectually disabled. If his claim is accepted under current Supreme Court precedent, it would make his execution unconstitutional.
However, Black people face an unfortunate situation. Tennessee’s legal framework allows only one such appeal, and he used it to file his back in 2004. This was long before the state adopted retroactive protections in 2021.
EXECUTION ALERT –
EXECUTION DAY –Stop Execution of #ByronBlack (See my Twitter)
Contact Governor Bill Lee.
615-741-2001
Talking points: https://t.co/Ka9kups0he
Send a letter: https://t.co/HZ6sMMe9vs
Execution : TODAY.@GovBillLee pic.twitter.com/IS09x8KX8K
— Attika Ghalem (@Attika_t) August 4, 2025
His current petitions have been denied.
As August 5 approaches, all eyes are on the state Supreme Court and Governor Bill Lee. The governor holds the power to grant clemency.
Black’s case may be the first in U.S. history where an inmate is executed with a working heart defibrillator. This has thrown a spotlight on the collision of capital punishment, medical ethics, and disability rights.
