Tennessee Inmate's Defibrillator Raises Ethical Dilemma Ahead of Execution

On August 5th, 2025, Tennessee is preparing to carry out the execution of 69-year-old inmate Byron Black, which experts say would likely mark the first time a man has been put to death with a working defibrillator in his chest.

The case has sparked a legal battle and ongoing uncertainty about whether Black's implantable cardioverter-defibrillator will shock his heart when the lethal drug takes effect. Black's attorneys argue that in order to ensure the device is deactivated, a doctor must place a programming device over the implant site and send a deactivation command. However, the state Supreme Court has overturned a lower court's decision that officials must deactivate the device.

The state has disputed that the lethal injection would cause Black's defibrillator to shock him, and even if shocks were triggered, they claim Black wouldn't feel them. But Black's attorneys have countered that even if the lethal drug renders someone unresponsive, they aren't necessarily unaware or unable to feel pain.

Kelley Henry, Black's attorney, has warned that the execution could become a "grotesque spectacle." The legal case has also sparked a reminder that most medical professionals consider participation in executions a violation of health care ethics.

Black was convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her two young daughters. His attorneys have unsuccessfully tried to get a new hearing over whether he is intellectually disabled and ineligible for the death penalty.