Executions to resume in Tennessee for first time since 2020

The big picture: Prison officials say they are ready to resume executions after a thorough review and the development of a new lethal injection protocol. But death row inmates are continuing to fight the state in court, saying a "culture of recklessness and noncompliance" has shredded the Tennessee Department of Correction's credibility.

What's happening: Death row inmate Oscar Franklin Smith, 75, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on May 22.

• Smith was sentenced to death for the 1989 murders of his estranged wife, Judy Lynn Smith, and her two sons, Chad and Jason Burnett. Smith maintains his innocence.

State of play: Smith's execution was initially scheduled for 2022, but Gov. Lee stopped it an hour beforehand because prison staff had not properly tested the lethal injection drugs for contaminants.

• Lee put all other executions on hold to allow for a full investigation into the TDOC's protocol.

Zoom in: The investigation, led by former federal prosecutor Ed Stanton, found the agency had failed to follow its own testing rules in every execution since 2018 and was understaffed for appropriate quality control.

• Lee called for leadership changes at TDOC and a new lethal injection protocol.
• Last December, the state announced it had finished its rewrite. The new protocol calls for a single-drug lethal injection using pentobarbital.

Smith is part of a group of death row inmates who sued to challenge that method in court. They argue that pentobarbital can cause an inhumane amount of pain that violates the Eighth Amendment.

Zoom out: In January, during the final days of the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Justice released a review that was critical of the use of pentobarbital in executions.

• The federal review raised concerns that the drug could cause "unnecessary pain and suffering," bolstering the Tennessee inmates' claims.

The latest: In a filing this week, attorneys for the death row inmates fought the state's efforts to hide details about its stash of pentobarbital.

• They argued that transparency about the supply was needed to ensure that the state is following constitutional guidelines forbidding cruel and unusual punishment.

What they're saying: "If TDOC was buying execution chemicals through legitimate supply chains, ensuring their purity and potency, and using qualified, properly trained team members to carry out executions, there would be no reason for them to hide behind a veil of secrecy," federal public defender Kelley Henry said in a statement.

What's next: Smith's execution is one of four scheduled this year.

• The trial in the death row inmates' lethal injection lawsuit is not set to begin until January.
• The inmates' attorneys have asked Lee to put executions on hold until the trial can take place.