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Judge to decide constitutionality of Tennessee execution method

Attorney Stephen Kissinger, left, looks over evidence as Assistant Attorney General Scott Sutherland talks with Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman during a trial, Tuesday, July 7, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. After more than a year of delays, a trial challenging Tennessee's method for executing prisoners began on Tuesday with Lubarsky, an anesthesiologist, suggesting that inmates given high doses of lethal injection drugs could spontaneously recover, although that was unlikely.
Attorney Stephen Kissinger, left, looks over evidence as Assistant Attorney General Scott Sutherland talks with Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman during a trial, Tuesday, July 7, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. After more than a year of delays, a trial challenging Tennessee's method for executing prisoners began on Tuesday with Lubarsky, an anesthesiologist, suggesting that inmates given high doses of lethal injection drugs could spontaneously recover, although that was unlikely. Attorney Stephen Kissinger, left, looks over evidence as Assistant Attorney General Scott Sutherland talks with Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman during a trial, Tuesday, July 7, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. After more than a year of delays, a trial challenging Tennessee's method for executing prisoners began on Tuesday with Lubarsky, an anesthesiologist, suggesting that inmates given high doses of lethal injection drugs could spontaneously recover, although that was unlikely.

By Associated Press 3 min read

NASHVILLE — A trial challenging Tennessee’s method for executing prisoners concluded Wednesday with attorneys for 33 death row inmates asking a judge to declare the lethal injection protocol unconstitutional.

Throughout the trial that began July 7, attorneys discussed technical aspects of the procedure, including the role of compounding pharmacists in producing the lethal injection drug pentobarbital.

Those discussions were rehashed during closing arguments Wednesday in Davidson County Chancery Court. The judge has 30 days to rule in the case.

About two years ago, the state moved from a three-drug lethal injection method to a one-drug method using pentobarbital. However, plaintiffs’ attorneys say the compounded form of the drug is likely to cause a condemned inmate to suffer extreme pain and can cause a lingering death.

Tennessee’s protocol calls for the use of pentobarbital mixed to order by a pharmacist. That’s because the only commercial producer of the drug has placed restrictions on its distribution to prevent it from being used in executions.