NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee is set to execute a man Tuesday without deactivating his implanted defibrillator, as uncertainty lingers about whether the device will shock his heart when a lethal drug takes effect.

Gov. Bill Lee declined Monday to grant a reprieve, meaning that Byron Black's execution is all but certain to go forward after a legal battle over whether the state would need to turn off his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD. The nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center said it’s unaware of any other cases in which an inmate made similar claims to Black's about ICDs or pacemakers. Black's attorneys said they haven't found a comparable case, either.

Lee said the courts have "universally determined that it is lawful to carry out the jury’s sentence of execution giv

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