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Thread: Tennessee Capital Punishment News

  1. #101
    Senior Member Frequent Poster Ted's Avatar
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    Has the trial finished under our noses? I can’t find any updates on it from the past few days.
    Violence and death seem to be the only answers that some people understand.

  2. #102
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ted View Post
    Has the trial finished under our noses? I can’t find any updates on it from the past few days.
    Lethal injection case: Dueling experts set stage for closing arguments in death penalty suit

    Experts brought in by either side of a challenge to Tennessee's lethal injection protocol disagree on whether the drugs effectively prevent death row inmates from being tortured in their final moments.

    That disagreement is the central issue at play in a lawsuit brought against the state by 33 death row inmates. Attorneys for the inmates argue midazolam - the 1st of 3 drugs in the state's lethal injection cocktail - fails to suppress brutal, unconstitutional pain caused by the following 2 drugs.

    But Dr. Feng Li, Nashville's chief medical examiner and an expert called Monday by attorneys for the state said the dose of midazolam in Tennessee's protocol was more than enough to render inmates unconscious and unable to feel pain, even if they flailed or moaned before the execution was over.

    "The patient probably will move," Li said during the final day of testimony in the trial. "The respiration will be quick, heartbeat will be quick and the blood pressure will rise but this stage is very quick. ... They are not aware."

    The inmates' attorneys questioned Li's expertise on the topic at every turn, repeatedly saying he was not well-versed in the effects of midazolam, particularly in executions.

    They referred back to their own experts, who said that inmates who receive midazolam can feel pain and experience the sensation of drowning as they die.

    At one point, federal public defender Kelley Henry read several expert accounts saying benzodiazepines, a class of drugs that include midazolam, are ineffective at suppressing pain and unreliable as anesthetics.

    Li agreed that was generally true of benzodiazepines, but that midazolam was an exception. He did not specify a source for that assertion.

    Lawyers for the state argue the case law is on their side - the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that executions using midazolam are permissible.

    But the inmates' attorneys say the state is relying on an unlicensed, out-of-state pharmacy to mix drugs that may not function as intended. And their case included discussion of autopsies that they say show inmates suffered intensely before they died.

    Both sides will have a final chance to state their cases in Davidson County Chancery Court Tuesday. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

    Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle is presiding over the case and is expected to make a ruling at the trial's conclusion. An appeal is likely regardless of the outcome.

    The civil case has been fast-tracked because one of the inmates suing the state, Billy Ray Irick, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 9. Irick, a Knox County man, was convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl.

    (source: The Tennessean)
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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  3. #103
    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Lethal injection trial ends: Inmates say drug causes 'torture,' state says that's 'nonsense'

    With about two weeks to go until Tennessee is scheduled to execute a man by lethal injection, lawyers brought a battle over the drugs the state will use to kill him to a forceful close Tuesday.

    One side — led by defense attorneys representing that man and 32 other death row inmates — said the state's three-drug cocktail for lethal injections was a failed "human experiment" that subjected inmates to torturous pain so intense that it violated the U.S. Constitution.

    The other side — representing the state of Tennessee and the Department of Correction — dismissed those concerns as "nonsense," and described the 12-day trial brought by the inmates' challenge as a waste of time and resources.

    The closing arguments delivered Tuesday offered a pointed summary of the fast-tracked trial on Tennessee's lethal injection protocol. They also set the stage for an almost-certain appeal before Knoxville man Billy Ray Irick is scheduled to die on Aug. 9.

    Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, who presided over the trial in Davidson County Chancery Court, said she would issue a ruling by the end of the week.

    Arguments lasted for nearly three hours Tuesday.

    Inmates said lethal injection protocol is 'akin to burning someone alive'

    Kelley Henry, a federal public defender who led the inmates' case, recalled the disturbing descriptions of executions in other states that used midazolam as part of a lethal injection.

    The drug is meant to put an inmate to sleep before a pair of other drugs stops their heart and lungs. But the inmates' attorneys said many inmates executed that way feel excruciating pain and panic as they die.

    Experts who testified on the inmates' behalf said midazolam did not render people unconscious and unable to feel the paralytic or the acidic poison that killed them. Witnesses saw inmates thrashing, moaning and crying as the drugs coursed through their veins.

    "That is akin to burning someone alive. That is not hyperbole. That is not an exaggeration," Henry said. "That's avoidable."

    The inmates did not argue against the death penalty itself.

    Instead, they focused on the use of midazolam. In her closing, Henry said documents provided by the state suggested officials could use pentobarbital instead. That drug would not have the same torturous effects, she said.

    "There’s no happy ending to this story," Henry said. "This story ends in death, but it can end with death with dignity with the application of the United States Constitution."

    State argued 'we shouldn't even be here today'

    Deputy Attorney General Scott Sutherland, who represented the state and the Department of Correction, was emphatically dismissive of Henry's arguments. Pointing at the inmates' attorneys, he described their points as "absurd" and "offensive."

    He pointed to rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court and other judicial panels that upheld executions using midazolam. And he said that the inmates had failed to prove pentobarbitalwas readily available, a prong they must address, according to the Supreme Court.

    "It is our position that we shouldn't even be here today," Sutherland said. "This case is about the plaintiff's failure to prove an alternative."

    Sutherland also questioned the suggestion that execution methods using midazolam didn't meet the threshold of torture or intentionally inflicted pain. At a particularly pointed moment, he evoked the suffering of murder victims who had been killed at the hands of the 33 inmates who had challenged the state.

    "The constitution doesn't require a painless death. It does not require a pretty death. Death isn't pretty, your honor," he said. "It certainly wasn't pretty or peaceful for the victims of many of the 33 plaintiffs."

    In a response to his closing, Henry struck back at Sutherland for "attacking the motives of plaintiffs and their lawyers."

    "It is our obligation, we are appointed lawyers and the statute requires us to protect our clients from torture," she said. "These are not frivolous lawsuits."

    https://www.tennessean.com/story/new...ure/822274002/
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  4. #104
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Judge rules Tennessee can use lethal injection drugs

    Associated Press

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee judge has upheld the state's use of controversial drugs to execute inmates after a challenge by 33 inmates on death row.

    Kelley Henry, one of the lawyers representing the inmates, said the plaintiffs will appeal.

    The Tennessean reports Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle issued the ruling Thursday evening saying the inmates failed to meet two necessary bars. Lyle ruled the lawyers didn't prove that there is a substantially less painful means to carry out the execution or that the drugs the state plans to use would cause the inmate to be tortured to death.

    Attorneys for the state and the inmates concluded a nearly two-week trial Tuesday over the new lethal injection procedure.

    Tennessee's first execution since 2009 is scheduled for Aug. 9

    https://www.wral.com/judge-rules-ten...rugs/17727612/

  5. #105
    Moderator Dave from Florida's Avatar
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    The last time Tennessee had a bench trial, West v Schofield, it took around 3 years to work it's way through the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Tennessee Supreme Court and denial of certiorari to SCOTUS. This 2 -3 year delay is possible again unless the Tennessee Supreme Court expedites things. If they don't, the state could have a new drug supply problem when it is resolved. Endless litigation. They might have to eventually go back to the electric chair which would involve more delays.

  6. #106
    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    I'm sure this brilliant maneuver will succeed

    Tennessee death row inmates raise using firing squad in new execution legal challenge

    In a new legal challenge to Tennessee's execution process, death row offenders say using a firing squad would be more humane than the state's current lethal injection method.

    The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday, says the state tortured Billy Ray Irick to death when he was injected with toxic chemicals and argues using the same drugs in another execution would violate constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment.

    Their argument is a familiar one, which other courts have rejected, but the inmates go one step further in outlining a macabre and required component of such lawsuits.

    They suggest several other methods, including a firing squad, are preferable and are constitutional ways to die compared to the state's three-drug execution protocol.

    A firing squad can be "implemented because the Big Buck Shooting Range is located on the grounds of Riverbend Maximum (Security) Institution and can easily accommodate the equipment required for an execution..." the lawsuit states, referencing the Nashville prison that houses Tennessee's death row and execution chamber.

    "Execution by this manner and method would damage the heart and cause a near immediate drop in blood pressure, including blood pressure in the brain. This will cause a loss of consciousness rapidly followed by death."

    It's still highly unlikely Tennessee would actually use a firing squad, given the electric chair is the currently legal alternative to lethal injection. The chances the inmates win this lawsuit are also low, considering many of their arguments mirror failed legal maneuvers deployed by Irick.

    The lawsuit is brought by attorneys representing death row offenders David Earl Miller, Nicholas Todd Sutton and Stephen Michael West. Miller — who's spent the most time on death row among its 60 current occupants — is scheduled to be executed Dec. 6. Edmund Zagorski, scheduled to die Oct. 11, is not part of this lawsuit.

    Dana C. Hansen Chavis, a federal public defender representing Miller, Sutton and West in the lawsuit, declined to comment Thursday. Other legal challenges to lethal injections in Tennessee are still pending.

    Irick and 32 other death row offenders sued the state in early 2018, arguing its lethal injection violates the Constitution. After a two-week trial in July, Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle rejected the inmates' arguments. The Tennessee Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court also declined to intervene in Irick's case.

    On Aug. 9, Irick was executed by lethal injection inside the prison. He was convicted in 1986 on charges of raping and murdering Paula Dyer, a 7-year-old Knox County girl.

    An execution team injected Irick with midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride. Midazolam is supposed to render the inmate unconscious and unable to feel pain, but expert testimony at a trial leading up to Irick's death showed the drug frequently does not prevent pain.

    That would mean the second and third drugs, intended to stop the lungs and heart, would cause pain similar to drowning and being burned alive, advocates and experts say.

    Irick snored, his chest heaved, and at times coughed during the roughly 21-minute execution. Attorneys in the lawsuit say this is clear evidence he was tortured to death.

    The lawsuit notes several states have stopped using midazolam. Irick and Miller are both overweight and have similar body types, as to other death row offenders, the lawsuit states, arguing this means the offenders would likely suffer the same torture as Irick.

    What are the other proposed execution alternatives?
    In the lawsuit, attorneys also argue the legal requirement that they propose alternative execution methods is unconstitutional. They say it violates inmates' eight and 14th amendments as "it inflicts serious psychological harm and is itself a type of cruel and unusual punishment."

    If they must present alternatives, the lawsuit states the four would "significantly reduce a substantial risk of severe pain" compared to the current protocol.

    Three of the four proposed alternatives involve medications. They are:

    Pentobarbital: Other states, including Texas, use the drug. Although Tennessee prison officials have said they can't obtain it, attorneys here argue they haven't tried hard enough.

    Removing the vecuronium bromide: Simply removing the second drug from the current three-drug method would reduce the chance the offender is tortured, according to the lawsuit. Attorneys tried to raise this argument late in Irick's legal proceedings as well.

    Orally administering the drugs: This proposal suggests there are medications that could be administered orally instead of through an injection. It does not explain how this would cause less pain than injecting the drugs.

    If none of those three are accepted, inmates ask the state to use a firing squad.

    Why firing squads are unlikely in Tennessee
    Only Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah formally authorize the use of a firing squad, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Utah officials executed an inmate by firing squad in 2010, the most recent usage in the United States.

    Tennessee, like most other states that allow the death penalty, uses lethal injection as the primary means of execution. If the state certifies it can't find lethal injection drugs, or if a court determines lethal injection is unconstitutional, then Tennessee will use the electric chair.

    If a court determines the electric chair is unconstitutional, then the state is allowed to carry out executions via "any constitutional method." In theory, that could mean a firing squad, but that would require several significant court rulings.

    In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an Alabama offender's request to die using a firing squad instead of lethal injection. However, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer dissented with the majority of the court.

    "Even if a prisoner can prove that the state plans to kill him in an intolerably cruel manner, and even if he can prove that there is a feasible alternative, all a state has to do to execute him through an unconstitutional method is to pass a statute declining to authorize any alternative method," Sotomayor wrote in her dissent, as reported by USA TODAY. "This cannot be right."

    The inmates in the lawsuit outline a proposed protocol for a firing squad. They cite a version of the Procedure for Military Executions, created by the U.S. Army in 1959.

    The procedure requires eight marksmen using rifles. At least one rifle, but no more than three, would be loaded with blanks. The marksmen would grab the rifles at random, in order to lessen the chances the executioners know who actually fatally shoots the condemned.

    A target would be placed over the offender's heart, a hood over the inmate's head. The marksmen would stand 15 paces away from the inmate. After the inmate is allowed to make a final statement, an officer would give the order to fire.

    As noted in the lawsuit, the protocol also includes a back-up plan if the offender doesn't immediately die. Called in the protocol a "coup de grace," or "blow of mercy," an officer would take a handgun, hold the muzzle one foot above the offender's ear and pull the trigger.

    https://www.tennessean.com/story/new...ge/1074118002/
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  7. #107
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    I can already see the DPICs take on a firing squad. Untested, illegally obtained ammunition that could torture them for hours.

  8. #108
    Senior Member Frequent Poster Ted's Avatar
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    This made me choke on my tea, jesus
    Violence and death seem to be the only answers that some people understand.

  9. #109
    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Yeah, good thing I wasn't eating or drinking when I read that.
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  10. #110
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    I can't wait to see the ammo/ gun makers grandstand over it as well. "Remington is not approved for use in such an application," the document said, adding uses of Remington in other states "have been extremely controversial and have led to widespread concern that prisoners have been exposed to cruel and unusual treatment."

    The Drug companies will sell drugs for suicide but won't for the DP I can see the same exact reaction from the Gun Crowd as well.

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