NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The state of Tennessee has filed orders to reset execution dates for four death row inmates after more than two years without an execution. The new dates affect Byron Black, Oscar Smith, Harold Nichols, and Donald Middlebrooks, all of whom have been on death row for decades.
The last execution in Tennessee took place in February 2020, before Governor Bill Lee ordered a moratorium on executions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state’s death penalty process was further delayed in 2022 after Governor Lee discovered that the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) had failed to follow its own execution protocols. Specifically, the department had neglected to test the lethal drugs, prompting the governor to halt further executions.
“When I learned that there was a shortfall or that there was a potential problem in the protocol with regard to the death penalty, I halted it all,” Governor Lee said in 2022. “I’ve told the department, take all the time you need to develop this [new protocol] exactly as it should be because it matters very much to Tennesseans.”
The pause in executions has drawn frustration from victims’ families, many of whom have been waiting for justice for decades. Jeff Monroe, the brother-in-law of Karen Pulley, a woman brutally murdered by Harold Nichols in 1988, voiced his anger over the delay. “Okay, how many excuses can we come up with? What’s next?” Monroe said. “If you get a date, is that a real date? Or is that just we think maybe, perhaps, possibly, it might happen?”
Monroe and other victims’ families have urged the state to move forward with executions, emphasizing the emotional toll of waiting for justice. “If the one method doesn’t work, let’s move to the other method,” Monroe added. “It sounds kind of callous, but how much time are you going to let go by? As far as I’m concerned, every day he’s had, every year he’s had, Karen has been gone.”
In December 2024, after two years of review and revisions, the TDOC announced the completion of its new death penalty protocol. The state has chosen to proceed with a single lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, despite concerns raised by the federal government over the drug’s potential to cause unnecessary suffering. The U.S. Department of Justice had recently discontinued its use, citing these concerns, but the Tennessee Department of Correction has opted to continue with the drug.
“The Tennessee Department of Correction will proceed in preparing to carry out the protocol,” a spokesperson for the TDOC wrote in January when asked about the decision.
Opponents of the death penalty, including Stacy Rector, the executive director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, have expressed strong concerns about the state’s decision to set new execution dates. Rector criticized the move as “premature” and “reckless,” citing the lack of transparency surrounding the new protocol. She argued that the millions of dollars spent on pursuing executions could be better invested in supporting victims and communities affected by violent crime.
“We’re talking about millions and millions of dollars, an exorbitant expense to taxpayers in this state, to pursue carrying out the death penalty for a handful of individuals who are already incarcerated and have been incarcerated for decades,” Rector said. “That investment would go much further to keep Tennessee safer than the death penalty ever will.”
Rector also voiced concerns about the impact of the executions on correctional staff, many of whom may be forced to carry out a process that could involve significant emotional and psychological strain. She pointed to the potential for unconstitutional violations under the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the risks of unnecessary suffering caused by the use of pentobarbital.
Despite these objections, the TDOC has announced the following execution dates:
- Oscar Smith: May 22, 2025
- Byron Black: August 5, 2025
- Donald Middlebrooks: September 24, 2025
- Harold Nichols: December 11, 2025
As Tennessee moves forward with these executions, the debate over the death penalty remains as contentious as ever, with deep divisions between those seeking justice for victims and those advocating for alternatives to capital punishment.
