Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Jeremy Gunn, Ashley Robinson Li and Michael Tackeff, and summer associate Anighya Crocker, authored an article for the Amicus Journal outlining the firm’s pro bono representation of Terry King, a Tennessee death row inmate, challenging the constitutionality of the state’s lethal injection protocol as cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. During the discovery process of the case, the pro bono team uncovered several issues related to Tennessee’s implementation of the lethal injection protocol, including:
- Failing to test lethal injection chemicals for potency and endotoxins.
- Failing to properly transport and store lethal injection chemicals.
- Failing to hold employees accountable for deviating from the protocol.
After these issues were revealed, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered an independent review of the state’s lethal injection protocol and issued a moratorium on executions until the review could be conducted and the state could respond to its findings. For now, that means the execution date for the firm’s client, Terry King, is on hold.
The full content, “Tennessee Suspends Executions and Authorizes Independent Investigation of Lethal Injection Protocol,” was published in Issue 44 of the Amicus Journal, the leading outlet focused on the significant issues affecting capital punishment worldwide.