NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — After a more than two-year pause, death row executions in Tennessee could soon resume after the state’s prison system completed a revision of the lethal injection protocol.
Executions have been paused in Tennessee since April 2022, which is when Governor Bill Lee ordered they be put on hold after a report and lawsuits revealed the state wasn’t testing lethal injection drugs, as required in its own protocol, among other problems.
The pause came after death row inmate Oscar Smith was slated to be executed on Thursday, April 21, 2022, by lethal injection. However, due to an issue with the injection, Smith’s execution, which would have been the first in the state since the COVID-19 pandemic, was delayed.
Soon after the pause, Gov. Lee reportedly tasked the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) to develop a new death penalty protocol before executions could resume. The state’s prison system wasn’t given a deadline to complete the new protocol, but on Friday, December 27, 2024 — more than two years after the pause— they announced that the revision was complete.
According to the TDOC, officials will utilize the single drug pentobarbital for lethal injections.
“I am confident the lethal injection process can proceed in compliance with departmental policy and state laws,” said Commissioner Frank Strada.
Strada reportedly began developing a revised protocol immediately after he was appointed in January 2023.
TDOC said the revised protocol was developed in consultation with the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office to ensure lawful and effective procedures are followed in carrying out death sentences.
