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WPLN discusses: Unanswered medical questions after execution of Byron Black

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Mark HumphreyAP Photo (File)
Guards watch the areas reserved for demonstrators outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the execution of Byron Black on Aug. 5, 2025.
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Byron Black’s legal team is still trying to figure out what caused the pain he displayed during his execution.

Black was the second person to be executed under Tennessee’s new lethal injection protocol. During the process, he lifted his head, sighed, groaned and told his nearby spiritual adviser he was hurting.

In the weeks leading up to his execution, there were court hearings and reports about Black’s heart implant and concerns it could begin delivering powerful electric shocks as he died. However, shortly after the execution, Black’s defense attorneys issued a statement, explaining the device had not been triggered. A medical expert had reviewed the data stored in the device, and it showed there were no shocks that would have caused pain.

In the audio conversation above, WPLN health reporter Catherine Sweeney and All Things Considered host LaTonya Turner discuss possible reasons for the apparent suffering, and why it’s unlikely the state will conduct further investigation into what happened.

 

Catherine Sweeney

Catherine Sweeney is WPLN’s health reporter. Before joining the station, she covered health for Oklahoma’s NPR member stations. That was her first job in public radio. Until then, she wrote about state and local government for newspapers in Oklahoma and Colorado. In her free time, she likes to cycle through hobbies, which include crochet, embroidery, baking, cooking and weightlifting.

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