Tennessee is close to releasing a new execution protocol, official says
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The lethal injection table in a Texas execution chamber. Photo: Paul Harris/Getty Images
Prison officials have almost finished crafting a new protocol for lethal injections, the state's correction commissioner told lawmakers this month.
Why it matters: Tennessee is inching closer to resuming executions after a hiatus of more than two years.
The big picture: Gov. Bill Lee stopped an execution by lethal injection an hour before it was set to take place in April 2022 after prison staff failed to conduct required testing of the chemicals that were to be used. Experts say proper testing confirms the drugs will be effective and safeguards against unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.
- Lee paused executions for an independent review, which found officials participating in executions since 2018 hadn't followed their own rules during lethal injections.
- After those findings were released in December 2022, the correction department started rewriting its execution protocol under a new commissioner.
Context: Tennessee allows two forms of execution: lethal injection, which is the primary method, and the electric chair.
The latest: At a legislative hearing on Oct. 9, correction commissioner Frank Strada told lawmakers that the new protocol was close to completion. He said he expected to release it in December or January.
- "We've been working with the attorney general's office on writing those protocols and making sure that they're sound," Strada said.
- "It's a long process," he added, explaining that his team had been in several meetings with the state AG's office making sure the protocol was "tight and right and within the law."
Reality check: It is unlikely that executions in Tennessee will resume immediately after the new protocol is released. There is already pending litigation against state's previous protocol, and any changes are sure to lead to other legal challenges.
What she's saying: Federal public defender Kelley Henry, who leads a team that represents several death row inmates in Tennessee, said the state has already made "multiple misrepresentations to multiple courts about its execution protocols," per the Associated Press.
- "Given the history of misrepresentations made by the state, any new protocol will require thorough review," Henry said.