Tennessee is scheduled to execute Byron Black in August. His attorneys argue his death should be delayed and his sentence reconsidered, citing his intellectual disability, progressive dementia and brain damage.
Safety net advocates want Tennessee’s senators to vote no on the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Local organizations are asking Tennessee’s U.S. Senators to vote against a proposal that would bring sweeping cuts to safety net programs.
Federal cuts could mean even more trouble for Tennesseans using SNAP benefits
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — which helps more than one in 10 Tennesseans get groceries — is already in legal trouble in the state for delayed benefits and other mismanagement concerns. It could soon be undergoing massive cuts.
Tennessee scheduled to execute at least two more death row inmates this year
Tennessee has resumed executions after years of COVID-19 delays and administrative pauses, and three more are scheduled this year.
Tennessee executes Oscar Smith, ending pause on lethal injections
The state of Tennessee executed Oscar Franklin Smith Thursday morning. It was the first lethal injection since 2019, and comes on the heels of a third-party investigation into the state’s protocol that found failures in testing the drugs used during executions.
Gov. Lee denies reprieve, ensuring executions by lethal injection amid legal challenge
Tennessee will execute Oscar Franklin Smith this week while a lawsuit challenging the state’s new lethal injection protocol makes its way through the court system.
Timeline: Tennessee is planning its first lethal injection in years. How did the state get here?
On Thursday, Tennessee plans to carry out its first execution since 2019 by means of lethal injection. It’s the fourth scheduled execution date since 2020 for Oscar Smith, who was convicted of killing his estranged wife Judith Smith and her two sons Jason Burnett and Chad Burnett in 1989.
Families of murder victims ask governor to hold off on Tennessee’s executions
Tennessee is scheduled to resume executions this month, and some victims’ rights advocates are arguing there are better ways to spend state money — and asking Gov. Bill Lee for a reprieve.
VUMC starts forewarned hiring freeze and layoffs triggered by federal funding cuts
Cutbacks at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have started. “In response to reductions in federal funding, VUMC is strategically reducing operating costs,” reads a statement. “Hiring for most research and administrative positions has been paused and some positions have been eliminated.”
‘We’ll be a partner’ versus ‘we’ll see you in court’ — officials far apart on federal funding disruptions
Tennessee has suddenly lost hundreds of millions of dollars as the federal government cancels promised funding, and recent reactions from two prominent elected officials differ sharply.
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