Execution of a U.S. prisoner carried out while an active pacemaker was present during lethal injection procedure.
In a controversial execution this week, authorities in Tennessee carried out the death sentence on inmate Byron Black, despite concerns about the effects of lethal chemicals on an implant in his heart.
Black, who had a pacemaker to regulate his heartbeats, was one of 28 men executed by order in the U.S. so far this year, with another eight scheduled for the remainder of the year in seven states.
The court had debated whether the authorities needed to turn off Black's implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a device that applies an electric current when the patient is in cardiac arrest. However, the state supreme court intervened on Thursday to overturn the decision regarding deactivation.
During the execution, witnesses reported that Black managed to say that he was in pain. Byron Black died at 10:43 AM.
The case of Byron Black illustrates the lack of a universal legal requirement across the United States for the deactivation of pacemakers or ICDs during lethal injection executions. While a judge in Tennessee ordered the deactivation of an inmate's ICD moments before execution to avoid painful shocks, this represents a situational judicial response rather than a broader legal precedent or standardized protocol.
Black's lawyers argued that even if the lethal drug used, pentobarbital, leaves someone unresponsive, they may not necessarily be unconscious or incapable of feeling pain. A trial court judge agreed with Black's lawyers and decided that the authorities had to deactivate the device to avoid causing unnecessary pain and prolonging the execution.
However, the state denied that the lethal injection with an implantable defibrillator could electrocute Black. The state supreme court later overruled the lower court’s order, stating the chancery court exceeded its authority.
Practical challenges arose, such as reluctance from hospital staff or medical professionals to perform the deactivation before the execution.
The number of executions this year in the U.S. surpasses the 25 carried out last year and in 2018, making up the highest total since 2015, when 28 people were executed.
According to prosecutors, Black was convicted for shooting his girlfriend, Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya Clay, 9, and Lakeisha Clay, 6, in 1988 in a crime of passion.
The case of Byron Black has once again brought attention to the controversial issue of lethal injection protocols and the role of the judiciary in ensuring humane executions.
What about the medical-conditions related to Black's pacemaker during the execution? The science surrounding health-and-wellness might provide insights on whether he could have felt pain despite being unresponsive during the lethal injection.
