The defense of death row inmate Edward Harbison filed a request Wednesday to have a new hearing regarding his Feb. 15, 2011 execution date.
The request notes that Tennessee does not have the means to carry out the execution – set to be done by lethal injection – at the time of the sentencing.
“In fact,” the request notes, “it is currently impossible to carry out Mr. Harbison’s execution because the state does not possess enough of the lethal injection drugs to do so.”
Harbison admitted to killing St. Elmo resident Edith Russell in 1983 when she walked in on him and an accomplice as they ransacked her home at 113 Ochs Highway. Authorities said Harbison “panicked” and struck Russell with a marble vase.
Since his conviction and sentencing, Harbison has filed several motions to stop the execution.