Hospital 'never agreed' to deactivate inmate's heart device before execution

A local hospital where the state has been ordered to disconnect a death rowinmate’s heart-regulating implant before his execution now says it never agreed to perform the procedure.

Byron Black, 69, is due to be executed on Tuesday August 5 for the 1988 South Nashville murders of his girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6. However, his case is growing ever more complicated with his execution just days away.

Black’s lawyers have argued that his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for congestive heart failure would cause a prolonged and painful death by shocking him as the lethal injection drug works its way through his body. It comes after Donald Trump was seen with a mystery mark in Scotland after his chronic health diagnosis.

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A Nashville judge ordered the deactivation of his device but on Wednesday, Nashville General Hospital spokesperson Cathy Poole said the medical center did not agree to participate, saying the hospital “has no role in State executions.” Black’s attorneys say his heart device would continuously shock him in an attempt to restore his heart’s normal rhythm, but the state disputes that and argues that even if shocks were triggered, that Black wouldn’t feel them.

In its statement, the hospital said, “Earlier reports of Nashville General Hospital’s involvement are inaccurate. The correctional healthcare provider contracted by the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), did not contact appropriate Nashville General Hospital leadership with its request to deactivate the implanted defibrillator,” Poole said. “Any assertion the hospital would participate in the procedure was premature.

“Our contract with the correctional healthcare provider is to support the ongoing medical care of its patients,” Poole continued. “This request is well outside of that agreement and would also require cooperation with several other entities, all of which have indicated they are unwilling to participate.”

Appeals are underway

Kelley Henry, an attorney for Black, said, “TDOC has mishandled this situation from the beginning. My hope is that the Governor will issue a reprieve to avoid a gruesome spectacle.”

Black’s final appeals for a reprieve are pending in state and federal courts, and through a clemency request with GOP Gov. Bill Lee. They also include an intellectual disability claim. The state has since sought to overturn the order to deactivate Black’s implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, including when and where to do it. The state Supreme Court is considering the request.

TDOC deferred questions to the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.