Faith and civic leaders opposed to capital punishment commended Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee last week for ordering a deeper review of the state’s lethal injection protocols after an independent investigation discovered corrections officials consistently failed to follow proper procedures in planning executions.
In comments provided by Equal Justice USA, death penalty abolitionists also criticized the state’s practice, since at least 2014, of not disclosing when executions are planned and went even further to plead for an end of the death penalty altogether in Tennessee.
Stacy Rector
“The state’s unwillingness to carry out executions in the light of day reinforces our belief that we shouldn’t be carrying them out at all,” said Stacy Rector, a Presbyterian minister and executive director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
“This report only confirms that the lethal injection protocol in Tennessee is irreparably flawed. The (Tennessee Department of Corrections) failure to follow its own protocols, its reliance on shady compounding drug suppliers, as well as state attorneys’ misstatements to the court are the predictable results of a failed policy veiled in secrecy.”
Problems with the state’s lethal injection process, equipment and drugs came to light in April when corrections officials admitted the chemicals to be used in the impending execution of Oscar Franklin Smith had not been tested for contaminants. That failure was a violation of the standards the state adopted in 2018.
After issuing a temporary stay of Smith’s execution, Lee in May 2022 appointed former U.S. Attorney Edward Stanton to investigate the chemicals Tennessee uses for lethal injections and to review the procedures for their application.
Stanton released a report Dec. 13 finding the corrections department was not testing its drugs for contamination, did not inform the drug provider with the state’s lethal injection protocols and some of the chemicals prepared for previous executions had not been tested for potency. The study recommended further review of procedures and that dedicated staff be hired to oversee every aspect of the lethal injection process.
Tennessee has executed seven prisoners since 2018, ending a nearly 10-year pause in the practice.
Tennessee, which offers Death Row inmates the choice between electrocution and lethal injection, has executed seven prisoners since 2018, ending a nearly 10-year pause in the practice. In that time, two prisoners were executed by lethal injection using untested chemicals, the report found.
“There are no internal policies to ensure the protocol is followed. Deviations occur, and although such deviations may ensure compliance with USP (United States Pharmacopeia) guidelines in the context of compounded LIC (Lethal Injection Protocols), this does not change the fact that the protocol is not being followed.”
Lee pledged action in a Dec. 28 statement: “I have thoroughly reviewed the findings in the independent investigator’s report and am directing several actions to ensure the Tennessee Department of Correction adheres to proper protocol. We are proactively sharing both the third-party report and my administration’s next steps to ensure continued transparency for the people of Tennessee.”
The governor also has directed the hiring of a permanent corrections department commissioner in January 2023 and that new leadership revise the state’s lethal injection training and protocols. But Lee, who issued temporary reprieves for five executions scheduled in 2022, offered no hint that Tennessee is entertaining the idea of scrapping its death penalty system.
Critics offered polite but firm responses.
Jasmine Woodson
“Thank you, Gov. Lee, for taking a step back from executions to study this report as it has done little to assuage my concerns over the death penalty,” said Jasmine Woodson, coordinator of Tennessee Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. “The whole system should be reevaluated. As a conservative, the death penalty does not align with my values, and the fact the government is able to carry these executions out in secret should be concerning to every citizen. Nothing good ever came from the government doing things in secret. Many Tennesseans will continue to be skeptical of a process that is so riddled with errors.”
Gloria Sweet-Love
Gloria Sweet-Love, president of the Tennessee Conference of the NAACP, said the report does not address the underlying moral, ethical and racial faults inherent in capital punishment.
“We remain deeply concerned about Tennessee’s execution process,” she said. “This report has given us a glimpse into an execution process plagued by human error, deception and inconsistency that mirror many of the same problems that infect the death penalty as a whole, including the racial bias that infects the whole system.”
Clemmie Greenlee, founder and CEO of Nashville Peacemakers/Mothers Over Murder, expressed feelings of exasperation.
“I am frustrated by Tennessee’s mixed-up priorities as it continues to invest millions of dollars in finding ways to kill those already in prison rather than redirecting much-needed resources to programs that actually address crime and violence, solve more unsolved murder cases, and help make our communities safer,” she said.
The leader of a state group dedicated to limiting the size and scope of government welcomed the report.
“Thank you, Gov. Lee, for taking the time necessary to review the problems identified by this report, which has shown us that nothing good can come from the government keeping the public in the dark. An unaccountable government is a breeding ground for corruption and fraud. Executions are no exception,” said Justin Cornett, board chair for All Tennessee.
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