TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 25, 2025

Tennessee prison officials are appealing a judge’s order requiring them to deactivate the defibrillator in Byron Black’s chest before they execute him on Aug. 5. The case will go straight to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which has asked Black’s attorneys to file their arguments by the end of this week. Tennessee Department of Correction officials told Davidson County Chancellor Russell Perkins earlier this week that they were unable to comply with his original order because they could not find a medical professional who would deactivate the device moments before the execution. The device will be deactivated at Nashville General Hospital the morning of the execution. Perkins modified his order to allow that procedure, but now the state is asking the state Supreme Court to allow them to execute Black without deactivating the device at all. Black’s attorneys have told the court that by design, the device will repeatedly shock Black during his lethal injection in an attempt to restore his heart’s normal rhythm. Read more in the Nashville Banner newsletter.