The Tennessee Department of Correction executed Harold Wayne Nichols Thursday morning, injecting him with a massive dose of the sedative pentobarbital.
Judge orders release of Tennessee execution records
A court ordered the Tennessee Department of Correction to release a cache of execution records, but it’s unclear whether the agency will have to comply.
Tennessee schedules next lethal injection as questions linger about the last one
The next man scheduled for execution in Tennessee — Harold Wayne Nichols — has officially declined to choose a method of execution. He had two options: lethal injection or the electric chair.
Attorney says electrocardiogram at Tennessee execution was active after inmate was pronounced dead
An attorney for a recently executed Tennessee inmate says an electrocardiogram showed “sustained cardiac activity” nearly two minutes after Byron Black was pronounced dead. Attorneys for the state say requiring members of the execution team to testify risks exposing their identities, even if their faces are hidden and their voices disguised.
Tennessee Supreme Court schedules four executions for 2026
The Tennessee Supreme Court has scheduled four more executions, even as questions linger about a lethal injection in August.
Autopsy sheds light on Byron Black’s painful execution
For the first time since Tennessee adopted a new lethal injection protocol, a post-execution autopsy has been released. It shows that Byron Black developed pulmonary edema — a form of lung damage.
WPLN discusses: Unanswered medical questions after execution of Byron Black
Byron Black’s legal team is still trying to figure out what caused the pain he displayed during his execution.
Attorney says heart device did not shock executed TN man who said he was ‘hurting so bad’
A Tennessee man who said he was “hurting so bad” during his lethal injection this week was not shocked by his implanted defibrillator.
Tennessee executes Byron Black despite worries about his heart implant
The state of Tennessee executed Byron Black on Tuesday morning. The 69-year-old was convicted of killing his girlfriend and her daughters in 1988. The execution was carried out by lethal injection despite uncertainty about Black’s heart implant.
Medical ethics and a prisoner’s heart implant complicate next execution in Tennessee
Tennessee’s highest court says the state can execute Byron Black without deprogramming a heart implant. It’s a tension that has intensified because of ethical codes in medicine.
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