Lawyers call for pause in Tennessee executions

Federal public defenders want Gov. Bill Lee to temporarily halt executions in Tennessee and create an independent commission to investigate the state's death penalty protocol.

Driving the news: Attorneys sent Lee a formal request for a moratorium Thursday, a week after he delayed the execution of Oscar Franklin Smith because of an undisclosed "oversight" in lethal injection preparations.

Why it matters: The reprieve in Smith's case is reigniting a debate about the three drugs Tennessee uses in lethal injections.

• Defense attorneys have long criticized the drugs as faulty and unconstitutional.
• During a media conference, they said the reprieve supported their claims that the process was fundamentally flawed.

Between the lines: Lee has yet to share what led to his last-minute decision to delay Smith's execution.

• His office told the Associated Press they would release "more information and action steps" next week.

What they're saying: "Whatever the 'oversight' that led to the necessity of a last-minute reprieve, there can be no trust in the Department of Correction to carry out an execution without first conducting an independent investigation of the execution protocol," federal public defenders Kelley Henry and Amy Harwell wrote in their letter to Lee.

The big picture: Tennessee's lethal injection protocol has been the subject of litigation for years — one lawsuit is awaiting trial in federal court.

• Attorneys for death row inmates argue the drugs amount to unconstitutional torture and create the sensation of drowning and burning alive.
• Courts so far have rejected challenges and allowed executions to move forward. Smith's would have been the eighth execution in Tennessee since 2018.