A Tennessee death row inmate who had a working defibrillator in his chest was executed by lethal injection earlier this week.
His attorney said Friday that his implanted defibrillator did not shock him during the execution after concerns over his physical state in the final moments before his death.
Byron Black execution in Tennessee
The backstory:
Byron Black, 69, was executed after a back-and-forth in court over whether officials would need to disable his implantable cardioverter defibrillator due to claims it might cause unnecessary, painful shocks to try to fix his heartbeat as the drugs were administered, potentially prolonging the execution.
This week:
Black was executed on Tuesday, Aug. 5, and the process stirred questions about his condition in the final moments before