Overview

• Initial evaluation of Black’s implantable cardioverter defibrillator data confirms the device did not deliver any shocks during his August 5 lethal injection.
• All seven media witnesses agreed Black displayed signs of distress and he was heard saying “It’s hurting so bad” as pentobarbital flowed.
• Black’s attorneys have filed public records requests for his execution electrocardiograph readings and expect an autopsy report within eight to twelve weeks.
• The case has prompted a first-of-its-kind challenge to Tennessee’s single-drug pentobarbital protocol over allegations of a “high risk of a torturous death.”
• Last week, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned a trial judge’s order to deactivate Black’s defibrillator before execution, fueling ongoing Eighth Amendment cruelty debates.