Tennessee's execution of an inmate fitted with a pacemaker or defibrillator can proceed, disregarding assertions it might deliver a shock to him
In a controversial decision, the Tennessee Supreme Court has allowed the scheduled execution of death row inmate Byron Black, despite his implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The decision has raised significant ethical concerns for medical professionals, who are often faced with the dilemma of balancing their duty to alleviate pain against their ethical codes that prohibit involvement in capital punishment.
Byron Black, a 69-year-old man convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her two daughters, has an ICD. His legal team argued that not disabling the device could cause him severe pain and suffering during the lethal injection process, as the ICD might repeatedly shock his heart in an attempt to restore normal rhythm.
Initially, a Davidson County Chancery Court ordered the defibrillator to be turned off, citing ethical concerns over unnecessary suffering. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed that order, ruling that requiring deactivation effectively constituted a stay of execution, which the chancery court was not authorized to grant. The Supreme Court stated nothing in their ruling prevents the parties from reaching an agreement to deactivate the ICD if feasible before execution.
The courts have not mandated medical professionals to deactivate the device, leaving the issue somewhat unsettled in law. Ethically, many medical groups reject participation in executions or acts that directly cause death, including disabling life-sustaining devices. Physicians must weigh their duty to alleviate pain against their ethical codes, which generally prohibit involvement in capital punishment. Requests to deactivate such devices create conflict about whether this constitutes aiding an execution or preventing suffering, and professionals are often placed in untenable positions.
The American Medical Association's code of ethics states that physicians should not be forced to determine a prisoner's competency to stand execution or treat an incompetent condemned prisoner if such activity is contrary to the physician's personal beliefs. However, the correctional healthcare provider contracted by the Tennessee Department of Correction did not contact appropriate Nashville General Hospital leadership for the deactivation request.
Robin Maher, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, has expressed concerns about the growing number of death row inmates and the potential for further moral quandaries in restoring their health for execution. One of Black's lawyers, Kelley Henry, has asked Gov. Bill Lee for clemency, arguing that Black is intellectually disabled and that his execution would violate the state Constitution.
The execution of Byron Black is scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m., subject to court intervention or a governor's reprieve. The issue of deactivating implantable defibrillators in condemned inmates remains a contentious one, both legally and ethically.
- The contentious issue of deactivating implantable defibrillators in condemned inmates, such as Byron Black, who has a scheduled execution, raises ethical concerns for medical professionals.
- Medical groups, including the American Medical Association, generally prohibit their members from participating in acts that directly cause death, like disabling life-sustaining devices, creating ethical dilemmas for physicians.
- General news outlets, focusing on health-and-wellness, mental-health, and crime-and-justice, have reported on the controversy surrounding the Tennessee Supreme Court's decision to allow the execution of Byron Black, despite his implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
