Tennessee Republican lawmakers are ready to change the state’s death penalty laws in the wake of two botched executions by lethal injection, including a renewed look at electrocution and firing squads.
Republican Rep. Jody Barrett of Dickson confirmed this week he is considering sponsoring legislation in 2027 to make firing squads a method for putting people to death, even though one Democratic lawmaker called the practice “depraved.”
Republican Sen. Tom Hatcher also said he is having a bill drafted that would either remove lethal injection from the execution process or reform it based on the results of a third-party investigation Gov. Bill Lee ordered after the failed execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike in September. Hatcher, a first-term senator from Maryville, acknowledged that eliminating lethal injection would leave electrocution as the only way allowed to put people to death.
“I think we’ve gotta do away with lethal injections,” Hatcher said. Short of that, he said the process needs to be changed and possibly have a standard third-party investigation for each execution, regardless of the outcome “to keep us and the public aware of what’s going on.”
He added he has spoken with other lawmakers who are looking at other options but said he’s not filing a bill for alternatives.