Byron Black cried out in pain as he was executed by lethal injection, nearly four decades after fatally shooting his girlfriend and her two children.
Prior to his execution, there was some back-and-forth in court whether his defibrillator should have been switched off to avoid causing unnecessary pain and prolonging his suffering.
Highlights
- Byron Black appeared to be in pain during his execution by lethal injection in Tennessee.
- He was the second man to be executed in Tennessee since May and the 28th person executed in the US this year.
- “Oh, it’s hurting so bad,” Byron said while strapped to his gurney.
- His attorneys insisted that his implanted defibrillator would necessarily prolong his suffering during the execution.
“I can’t say I’m sorry because we never got an apology,” said the slain girlfriend’s family.
Byron Black cried out in pain as he was executed by lethal injection in Tennessee
Image credits: Tennessee Department of Correction
Trigger warning: contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
Byron was convicted for shooting his girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, in 1988 during what prosecutors called a jealous rage.
He also shot Angela’s daughters Latoya Clay, 9, and Lakeisha Clay, 6, in their home.
At the time, Angela’s family told Nashville police that Bryron threatened to harm her when she considered ending their relationship.
Image credits: BBC
When he ended the lives of the mother and children, the boyfriend was on work-release while serving time for shooting Angela’s estranged husband, Bennie Clay.
Investigators believed Angela and Latoya were shot in their sleep, while 6-year-old Lakeisha tried to escape but did not survive.
“My kids, they were babies ... They never got the chance,” Bennie Clay said
Image credits: Criminal Records - True Crime / YouTube
Estranged husband Bennie believed Byron shot his daughters out of spite.
“My kids, they were babies,” he previously told The Tennessean. “They were smart, they were gonna be something. They never got the chance.”
Decades after the 1988 shootings, Byron became the second man to be executed in Tennessee since May and the 28th person executed in the US this year.
Image credits: NewsChannel 5 / YouTube
Byron talked about being in pain during his final moments at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Tuesday.
“No sir,” he said when asked for any last words.
With an IV line in his arm, he lay in his gurney, while his arms and chest were restrained.
“Oh, it’s hurting so bad,” Byron said while strapped to his gurney
Image credits: NewsChannel 5 / YouTube
As the execution began, he lifted his head off the gurney several times and was breathing heavily.
“Oh, it’s hurting so bad,” he said.
Sitting beside him was his spiritual leader, singing and praying and even touching his face at one point.
“I’m so sorry. Just listen to my voice,” the advisor told him.
Byron was pronounced deceased at 10:43 local time.
“I’m so sorry. Just listen to my voice,” Byron's spiritual advisor said to him during his final moments
Image credits: NewsChannel 5 / YouTube
Prior to his execution, Byron’s lawyers insisted that his defibrillator should be deactivated to avoid a torturous passing.
They claimed the defibrillator—a device placed in the chest to detect and correct irregular heartbeats—could repeatedly shock his heart while attempting to bring it back to the normal rhythm.
This would violate Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment, his lawyers claimed in court.
Image credits: Tennessean / YouTube
A trial court judge agreed with Byron’s attorneys and said the defibrillator should be deactivated when the lethal injection is administered.
However, Tennessee’s Supreme Court overturned that decision last week and said the lower-court judge didn’t have the authority to issue such an order.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee also said before the execution that he wouldn’t show any leniency to Byron.
Byron’s attorneys argued that his defibrillator should be deactivated to avoid prolonging his suffering
Image credits: BBC
“I interpret that my client was tortured today,” Kelley Henry, one of Black's lawyers, told reporters after his passing.
The attorney accused the state of Tennessee of executing “a gentle, kind, fragile, intellectually disabled man in a violation of the laws of our country simply because they could.”
Previously, Kelley unsuccessfully argued that Byron shouldn’t be administered the lethal injection because of his apparent intellectual disability.
Image credits: WSMV 4 Nashville / YouTube
Byron was wheelchair-bound and suffering from dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions during the execution.
Linette Bell, the sister of slain girlfriend Angela, shared a statement after the execution.
“I thank God for making this happen,” Linette said. "His family is going through the same thing now that we went through 37 years ago.”
“I can't say I'm sorry, because we never got an apology,” she added. “He never apologized, and he never admitted it.”
"His family is going through the same thing now that we went through 37 years ago,” Angela's sister said
Image credits: BBC
Bennie said before the execution that he forgave Byron for the shootings.
“God has a plan for everything,” he said. “He had a plan when he took my girls. He needed them more than I did, I guess.”
Image credits: NewsChannel 5 / YouTube
Most netizens suggested Byron deserved a painful end for his heinous crime, with one saying, “Imagine how his victims cried out!”
“Finally felt just a little of what he put others through,” another said.
Bennie Clay said before the execution that he forgave Byron for the shootings
One wrote, “He deserves what he gets. The victims family needs closure.”
“Did he care how his victims felt?” one asked.
Another said, “Good he got a taste of his own medicine.”
Most netizens suggested Byron deserved a painful end for his heinous crime
