Advocates Call for Judicial Review of New Execution Protocol - Articles

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Advocates Call for Judicial Review of New Execution Protocol

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Apr 10, 2025

In a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Nashville, members of the federal public defender’s office and advocates said they have asked Gov. Bill Lee to pause executions until March 2026 to allow courts time to review the state’s new protocol. “This protocol is a sham,” said Kelley Henry, a supervisory assistant federal public defender who represents a number of people on Tennessee’s death row. “It’s a mere shadow of the previous protocol. They haven’t put in more safeguards. They’ve made it worse.” The governor responded to criticisms saying he does not plan on calling for a reprieve for all executions, but he does review each case individually, the Tennessean reports. "It was a lengthy process in making sure we had the right protocol here," Lee said. Four people are set to be executed this year under a new, single drug protocol.