An electrocardiogram monitoring the heart of a Tennessee inmate during his execution showed sustained cardiac activity nearly two minutes after he was pronounced dead, his attorney said during a hearing over whether attorneys can depose key people involved in executions. The comment came as part of a lawsuit challenging the state’s lethal injection protocol, claiming it violates federal and state constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment.
Byron Black, who was executed by lethal injection in August, had been convicted of killing his girlfriend and two daughters in 1988. His attorney, Kelley Henry, argued that only those present during the execution could answer questions about what went wrong. She noted an issue with a previous execution where attorneys didn’t know what the cardiac activity looked like because there was no paper loaded into the EKG machine.
The Tennessee Department of Correction had proposed allowing officials to testify instead of the execution team, but Henry argued that this would not provide enough information. The judge has taken the arguments under advisement and will rule later. A trial in the case is currently set for April.
Source: https://newschannel9.com/news/local/attorney-says-electrocardiogram-at-tennessee-execution-was-active-after-inmate-execution