18 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy of Tennessee Department of Correction/AP

 

Tennessee is set to execute Byron Black for the 1988 killings of a mother and her two young daughters, as concerns mount over his heart implant potentially causing repeated shocks during the lethal injection. Black's attorneys are fighting for the deactivation of his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to avoid what they claim would be a torturous and prolonged execution.

 

The ICD, designed to regulate Black's heartbeat, sits at the heart of an intensive legal battle. His legal team argues that without deactivation, the lethal drugs would trigger repeated shocks as the ICD attempts to restore his heart's rhythm. This, they claim, breaches the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel punishment. Tennessee officials, however, counter that Black would be unconscious and unable to feel pain if the device activated during the execution.

 

The case highlights the ethical complexity where medicine and capital punishment meet. The American Medical Association opposes medical participation in executions, creating a dilemma for Tennessee, as no medical professionals have agreed to deactivate Black’s device. Despite a court ruling in Black's favour that ordered the device's deactivation, it was overruled by the Tennessee Supreme Court, citing a lack of jurisdiction, according to CNN.

 

Byron Black faces intellectual disability claims from his legal team and is described by his attorneys as a frail and sickly figure suffering from numerous health conditions. They argue the decision should exempt him from execution, with an appeal already submitted to the US Supreme Court.

 

Defying the call for device deactivation, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti asserts that Black will not experience severe pain. Highlighting the 37 years since the brutal murders of Angela Clay and her daughters, Skrmetti pledges to continue seeking justice for the victims' family.

 

Black received the ICD in May 2024, which includes pacemaker functions for low heart rates and defibrillator shocks for high heart rates. Non-invasive methods can deactivate the device, but due to ethical stances against participating in executions, no professionals have agreed to perform this task.

 

The murders Black committed, shooting his girlfriend and her daughters with .44-calibre bullets matching those from a previous incident involving the girl’s father led to his death sentence. The execution, if it proceeds without the deactivation of Black's ICD, could set a precedent regarding the intersection of healthcare technology and capital punishment.

 

In summary, Byron Black's impending execution on Tuesday is under scrutiny due to concerns over his ICD potentially causing suffering. The legal clash underscores the ongoing debate around capital punishment and medical ethics, emphasising the intricate issues involved in executing individuals with health complications.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from CNN 2025-08-05

 

What's wrong with a bullet though the head?

5 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

Agreed!

He has been gifted 37 years of life, albeit incarcerated. No doubt sharing a laugh and a story with his fellow inmates, reading books, watching movies, and enjoying a limited existence - unlike his victims.  

I’m for the death penalty,that being said I don’t have a problem with the appeal process because it’s final.as to the method I’d suggest the the French method off with their head,it’s quick terrifying a bit of a deterrent + I’m sure some of the people affected by such criminals might receive some satisfaction with that method.

The case does highlight the issue of ICDs and Pacemakers keeping dying people alive. You are more likely to receive a ICD or pacemaker if you have been diagnosed with a dementia, than without.

 

https://www.alzinfo.org/articles/people-with-alzheimers-more-likely-to-get-pacemakers/

 

It seems counterintuitive; vast sums keeping alive people with no quality of life.  Diseases like Alzheimers eventually cause heart failure; the autonomic functions start to be affected, and the heart doesn't beat properly. Frequently, the patients are in a care home, and fall over. Rushed to hospital where the cardiologist checks them over, and says they need a pacemaker.

 

What happens next is a nightmare. You are kept alive long after the lights have gone out. You recognise no one. Have lost the power of speech. Your eyes work, but your brain can no longer process the images. You ability to swallow declines, so you are put on a gruel liquid diet. The families have to go through the courts to apply to get the device turned off, to allow you to pass naturally.

 

Happened to my father. He had AD, and walked into respite care. 4 weeks later, I literally carried him out; he was essentially comatose. The cardiologist wanted him fitted with a pacemaker. For most of us, that sounded great, get on with it. Except my mum, a retired nurse, who kiboshed the whole idea. She was right, but she looked at it from the perspective of a nurse. 

 

A it was, he died 3 weeks later holding my hand.

 

As for the issue at hand; the condemmed man. Its arisen because Americans lack confidence in their justice system, and allow for repeated and extended appeals. The condemmed feel they are innocent or there are mitigating circumstances.

 

America should return to the British standard, when, typically, execution took place about 3 months after sentence was passed. The prisoners are allowed one appeal 2 weeks after being found guilty. If that fails, they could appeal for clemancy, about 4-6 weeks later. If that fails, execution is carried out at a time and place of the state's choosing. The prisoner has no final meal. They are taken from their cell, unannounced, to the execution chamber, only about 4-5 people in the chamber, including a priest, asked to confirm their names, hood slipped on, rope, open trap.

 

 

 

Sucks to be him

Every defense attorney is obligated to try to save the life of a client.  Attorneys can come up with some very creative arguments in their attempts to convince a judge the client shouldn't be executed.

Well he got his (meds) he’s a dead ducky now good riddance!

According to witnesses to the execution, Byron Black was heard to say, “Oh, it’s hurting so bad," and show signs of distress before losing consciousness.  It's unknown what caused him pain: the execution drugs; the tubes in his veins; or the defibrillator.  He had no final words when asked prior to the start of the execution.  For his last meal, he had requested  pizza with mushrooms and sausage, donuts, and butter pecan ice cream.

 

This is a photo of the woman and two girls he murdered.  I hope he's now in pain for eternity.

 

 

18 hours ago, giddyup said:

Firing squad an alternative.

I am always annoyed by the hypocrisy of lethal injection as a "human"? method.

No execution is human and so stand up and fire.

In the high-tech world can use automated guns.

Eye for an eye, eh, boys? Vengeance is so pitiable...

On 8/5/2025 at 3:19 PM, Cameroni said:

I'm not comfortable with capital punishment because legal history is littered with instances where both juries and judges got it wrong.

 

It's not always the case that the law gets it right. And once a life is taken, you can't rectify the error.

 

 

Totally agree. I used to be a forensic sciences instructor. I always had each of my students research a death penalty case where the defendant was eventually exonerated and give a presentation on all of the details, including the crime, why the person was arrested, the evidence, the years wrongfully incarcerated, an account of every instance of the defendant facing imminent death, and the compensation given for, in MANY instances, the decades spent behind bars for a crime they didn't commit. Occasionally, there were tears in the classroom!

One of the biggest injustices is those who were repeatedly denied the chance to introduce new evidence post-conviction, especially after DNA tech was introduced. Another was the surprisingly high rate of erroneous eyewitness testimony. Classic, I'd have another instructor enter the room for a brief side discussion with me. After the other instructor left, I had the students give a complete description of him or her: height, hairstyle and color, clothes worn, tats, scars, etc. Remarkably poor results.

5 minutes ago, Peabody said:

Totally agree. I used to be a forensic sciences instructor. I always had each of my students research a death penalty case where the defendant was eventually exonerated and give a presentation on all of the details, including the crime, why the person was arrested, the evidence, the years wrongfully incarcerated, an account of every instance of the defendant facing imminent death, and the compensation given for, in MANY instances, the decades spent behind bars for a crime they didn't commit. Occasionally, there were tears in the classroom!

One of the biggest injustices is those who were repeatedly denied the chance to introduce new evidence post-conviction, especially after DNA tech was introduced. Another was the surprisingly high rate of erroneous eyewitness testimony. Classic, I'd have another instructor enter the room for a brief side discussion with me. After the other instructor left, I had the students give a complete description of him or her: height, hairstyle and color, clothes worn, tats, scars, etc. Remarkably poor results.

 

There's a famous experiment where people are shown moving around energetically in a video clip, with a man dressed as a gorilla in their midst. About 50% of respondents did not see the man in the gorilla costume after they were interviewed.

 

When I was a lawyer and I conducted my first real trial I was struck by how the truth does not matter at all in a legal case. What matters is what you can document and prove with evidence. Though I won the case, I was shocked how easy it would have been for the other side to win, if they'd lied better and if I didn't have such good evidence.

 

 

On 8/6/2025 at 4:54 AM, MicroB said:

 

I trust you don't mean this as news! In fact, it's a documentary to create debate on the death penalty in UK. Glitter was sentenced to 16 years in 2016 and released under licence in 2023. He's 81 and served time in Cambodia & Vietnam. Can't undo the past.