Tennessee judge gives state leeway on deactivating inmate’s heart-regulating device before execution

‘Time is ticking’: Judge to decide whether Ralph Menzies should get another review before execution

Death row inmate Ralph Menzies appears in 3rd District Court on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Pool photo by Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune) A judge will soon decide whether Ralph Menzies, the death row inmate with dementia sentenced to die by firing squad on Sept. 5, will get another evaluation to determine whether he’s mentally competent to be executed.  Utah’s 3rd District Judge Matthew Bates heard arguments for and against granting Menz…

Pushback on Tennessee execution court order amounts to ‘passive aggression,’ judge says

FILE - Officials at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution say they can't follow a court order to disable Byron Black's heart implant before his execution.(Blake Farmer / WPLN )It appeared the intense debate was over when a judge ordered the Tennessee Department of Correction to disable a death row inmate’s heart implant before his execution.But now, the department is arguing it can’t comply.The judge over the case, Davidson County Chancellor Ru…

TN admits Byron Black's disability. Now, Gov. Lee must prevent his execution

A leading expert and the state of Tennessee have acknowledged Byron Black's disability. Yet he is scheduled to be executed on August 5.

Tennessee judge gives state leeway on deactivating inmate's heart-regulating device before execution

A Tennessee judge has ruled that the state can deactivate a death-row inmate’s implanted heart-regulating device at a hospital on the morning of his execution, rather than bringing a doctor or technician into the execution chamber.

Death row inmate's defibrillator to be deactivated morning of execution

A Davidson County judge is holding a rare hearing Tuesday morning that could impact how Tennessee carries out the execution of death row inmate Byron Black.

Tennessee inmate's heart device must be turned off before execution to avoid shock risk, judge rules

A judge has ruled that a death row inmate's heart device must be deactivated when he receives a lethal injection in Tennessee Aug. 5.