Tennessee inmate’s execution put on hold due to COVID-19
4 years ago

Tennessee inmate’s execution put on hold due to COVID-19

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Supreme Court on Thursday indefinitely postponed the execution of death row inmate Byron Black. In a brief order issued on Thursday, the court wrote that Black’s execution is stayed pending a further order by the court “because of the multiple issues caused by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.” Black was convicted by a Nashville court of murdering his girlfriend Angela Clay and her daughters Latoya, 9, and Lakesha, 6, at their home in 1988. “It would be reasonable to anticipate that the virus would have time to run its course well before Black’s competency petition can be filed or his hearing takes place,” the state argued. Bill Lee last month granted a a reprieve from execution to Pervis Payne from Dec. 3 until April 9 “due to the challenges and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Lee granted another reprieve in July to Harold Nichols, and the Tennessee Supreme Court issued an earlier reprieve to Oscar Smith.

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History of this topic

Inmate asks to delay execution, says co-defendant who blamed him for killing had secret deal
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Inmate asks to delay execution, says co-defendant who blamed him for killing had secret deal

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — An inmate set to be executed in South Carolina in three weeks wants the state Supreme Court to delay the execution so his lawyers can argue his co-defendant who testified against him lied about having no plea deal in exchange for his testimony. Also on Friday, the South Carolina’s Supreme Court promised it would wait at least …

Appeals Court weighs death row inmate’s disability claims
2 years, 1 month ago

Appeals Court weighs death row inmate’s disability claims

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Attorneys for Tennessee death row inmate Byron Black told a state appeals court on Tuesday that he should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled. However, the defendant cannot file a new disability claim “if the issue of whether the defendant has an intellectual disability has been previously adjudicated on the merits.” Senior Assistant Attorney General …

Tennessee execution pause through 2022 could last longer
2 years, 6 months ago

Tennessee execution pause through 2022 could last longer

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After Tennessee Gov. Many of the problems surfaced as part of challenges of Tennessee’s execution process by two death row inmates in federal court. Those cases are on hold until the investigation ordered by Lee concludes — but in the meantime, the state attorney general’s office acknowledged in a May 6 court filing that there may be …

Judge: Death row inmate can pursue disability claims
2 years, 6 months ago

Judge: Death row inmate can pursue disability claims

Associated Press  

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee death row inmate convicted of a 1994 slaying can pursue arguments that he is intellectually disabled and should not be executed under state law, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris issued an order Tuesday granting a stay in federal court proceedings for Tyrone Chalmers, who was convicted in 1997 of …

As execution warrant lapses, families tell AP grief is fresh
2 years, 7 months ago

As execution warrant lapses, families tell AP grief is fresh

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — The families of two young girls who were abducted and attacked 46 years ago by a Georgia man who was scheduled to be put to death last week say they are “deeply upset and disappointed” that the execution was halted by a judge and the death warrant was allowed to expire Tuesday. Lisa Smith, Lori’s older sister, said …

Lawyers seek to delay Georgia execution set for next week
2 years, 7 months ago

Lawyers seek to delay Georgia execution set for next week

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Lawyers for a Georgia man scheduled to be put to death next week for killing an 8-year-old girl 46 years ago are trying to delay the execution. The lawsuit says the agreement said that, with one named exception, executions wouldn’t resume until six months after three conditions had been met: the expiration of the state’s COVID-19 judicial emergency, …

Tennessee pauses executions, will review lethal injections
2 years, 7 months ago

Tennessee pauses executions, will review lethal injections

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gov. Lee didn’t initially disclose the reason for stopping Smith’s execution other than to say there was an “oversight” in the preparation of the lethal injection drugs. In a Monday statement, Federal Public Defender Kelley Henry said the Republican governor’s decision shows “great leadership.” “The use of compounded drugs in the context of lethal injection is fraught …

Attorneys want moratorium, probe after execution halted
2 years, 7 months ago

Attorneys want moratorium, probe after execution halted

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After an undisclosed “oversight” forced Tennessee to call off the execution of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die last week, Smith’s attorneys on Thursday asked for a moratorium on executions and a review of the state’s execution protocols. Bill Lee issued a brief statement on April 21 at 5:42 p.m. saying that “due to …

Tennessee plans 1st COVID-19-era execution, more scheduled
2 years, 8 months ago

Tennessee plans 1st COVID-19-era execution, more scheduled

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee is set to execute its first inmate Thursday since the start of the pandemic, planning a lethal injection procedure that has become less common in the state than the electric chair in recent years. The execution using the state’s preferred method puts Tennessee on a divergent path from South Carolina, which has been preparing for a …

Tennessee governor declines to intervene as execution looms
2 years, 8 months ago

Tennessee governor declines to intervene as execution looms

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s governor said Tuesday that he will not intervene in the scheduled execution later this week of an inmate convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife and her sons decades ago. “After thorough consideration of Oscar Smith’s request for clemency and an extensive review of the case, the State of Tennessee’s sentence will stand, and …

Oscar Smith: A Tennessee death row inmate is set to be executed after governor denies him clemency
2 years, 8 months ago

Oscar Smith: A Tennessee death row inmate is set to be executed after governor denies him clemency

CNN  

CNN — A man convicted of killing his estranged wife and her sons in 1989 is set to be executed Thursday after Tennessee Gov. The governor declined to intervene in Oscar Smith’s case Tuesday, setting the 72-year-old inmate up to be the first person executed in the state since the Covid-19 pandemic began. New cutting-edge DNA evidence excluding Mr. Smith …

State high court won’t hear inmate appeal as execution looms
2 years, 8 months ago

State high court won’t hear inmate appeal as execution looms

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the appeal of an inmate facing execution this week who sought to have his case reopened after an unknown person’s DNA was found on one of the murder weapons. The state Court of Criminal Appeals ruled last week that Smith didn’t provide evidence that he is innocent of …

Appeals court denies death row inmate request to reopen case
2 years, 8 months ago

Appeals court denies death row inmate request to reopen case

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An appellate court has denied a Tennessee death row inmate’s request to reopen his case after unknown DNA was found. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled late Thursday that Oscar Smith, 71, “has not presented new scientific evidence establishing that he is actually innocent of the murders of the victims,” The Tennessean reported. Earlier this month, …

Tennessee inmate seeks execution halt over DNA evidence
2 years, 8 months ago

Tennessee inmate seeks execution halt over DNA evidence

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee death row inmate asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to vacate his execution date so that an appeals court could review new evidence in his case. Earlier this month, Smith asked the Davidson County Criminal Court to reopen his case after a new type of DNA analysis found the DNA of an unknown person …

Judge won’t halt execution over intellectual disability
2 years, 8 months ago

Judge won’t halt execution over intellectual disability

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A judge on Tuesday dismissed a motion to declare a Tennessee death row inmate intellectually disabled, a move that would have prohibited his upcoming execution. The 45-page decision comes despite agreement between Nashville’s district attorney and Black’s lawyers that he is intellectually disabled and should not be put to death. Black’s attorneys had argued the 65-year-old should …

Hearing set for Mississippi inmate who sought execution date
2 years, 9 months ago

Hearing set for Mississippi inmate who sought execution date

Associated Press  

— A Mississippi judge will hold a hearing next month to determine if a death row inmate truly wants to request an execution date and if the inmate is mentally competent to waive appeals in the case. In court papers filed Monday, a special assistant state attorney general said the hearing for Blayde Nathaniel Grayson is scheduled for April 7 …

Attorney: Dismiss Mississippi inmate’s request for execution
3 years ago

Attorney: Dismiss Mississippi inmate’s request for execution

Associated Press  

— An attorney for a Mississippi inmate is asking the state Supreme Court to dismiss the inmate’s request for an execution date. He said in a handwritten letter to justices last week: “I ask to see that my execution should be carried out forthwith.” Attorney David Voisin submitted a separate letter Tuesday telling justices that Grayson still has an appeal …

Another Mississippi inmate asks state to set execution date
3 years ago

Another Mississippi inmate asks state to set execution date

Associated Press  

— A Mississippi death row inmate says he wants the state to start planning his execution — a request that comes weeks after another Mississippi prisoner surrendered appeals and was put to death. “I ask to see that my execution should be carried out forthwith,” Blayde Nathaniel Grayson said in a handwritten letter filed Friday with the state Supreme Court. …

For first time in nearly 7 decades, US executes woman death row convict in murder case
3 years, 11 months ago

For first time in nearly 7 decades, US executes woman death row convict in murder case

India Today  

The US government executed convicted murderer Lisa Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row, early on Wednesday, after the Supreme Court cleared the last hurdle for her execution by overturning a stay, according to a reporter serving as a media witness. Montgomery's execution marked the first time the US government has implemented the death sentence for a female prisoner …

US courts delay all federal executions scheduled this week
3 years, 11 months ago

US courts delay all federal executions scheduled this week

Al Jazeera  

A US judge ordered the Justice Department to delay the executions of two condemned murderers until at least March 16 to allow them to recover from COVID-19, hours after a federal judge in Indiana blocked Tuesday’s scheduled execution of the only woman on federal death row in the United States, citing mental health. Their lawyers argued execution Convicted murderer Lisa …

Judge halts federal execution after lawyers contract virus
4 years, 1 month ago

Judge halts federal execution after lawyers contract virus

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — A federal judge is temporarily blocking the federal government’s plan to execute the first female death row inmate in almost six decades after her attorneys contracted the coronavirus visiting her in prison. Montgomery’s legal team has argued that their client suffers from serious mental illnesses and can’t assist in filing her own clemency petition, in part because all …

Tennessee governor gives death row inmate temporary reprieve
4 years, 1 month ago

Tennessee governor gives death row inmate temporary reprieve

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Lee granted one in July to Harold Nichols, and the Tennessee Supreme Court issued two earlier reprieves to Oscar Smith and Byron Black. Payne’s attorneys have also said he should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled, and the U.S. Supreme Court has said that executing those with intellectual disabilities violates the U.S. Constitution. …

Tennessee governor delays scheduled execution due to virus
4 years, 5 months ago

Tennessee governor delays scheduled execution due to virus

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee death row inmate received a rare temporary reprieve from Gov. “I am granting Harold Wayne Nichols a temporary reprieve from execution until December 31, 2020, due to the challenges and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lee said in a statement. He chose the electric chair over Tennessee’s preferred execution method of lethal injection — …

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