Overview

• The court’s July 31 decision rescinded Judge Russell Perkins’s order mandating deactivation of Byron Black’s implantable cardioverter-defibrillator before his execution.
• Nashville General Hospital has declined to participate in disabling the device, stating it has no role in state executions.
• Black’s lawyers warn the active defibrillator could repeatedly shock him during lethal injection, causing prolonged pain, while the state argues any shocks would not be felt.
• State officials initially said the hospital agreed to the deactivation plan but later admitted Nashville General refused involvement regardless of location.
• Black’s final legal bids for a stay and a clemency petition with Gov. Bill Lee remain pending as his August 5 execution date approaches.