Tennessee Supreme Court Halts Executions for 4 death row Inmates

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an order staying the execution of Stephen Michael West scheduled for Nov. 30 to allow the trial court to test the constitutionality of the state’s new lethal injection procedure.

Pending the resolution of this issue, the Court has also stayed the scheduled executions for Billy Ray Irick, Edmund Zagorski and Edward Jerome Harbison.

On Nov. 22, West and Irick filed motions requesting the Tennessee Supreme Court postpone their executions after a Davidson County Chancery Court ruled the state's lethal injection procedure to be unconstitutional. After a 2-day evidentiary hearing, the trial court ruled the state's current procedure did not offer a safeguard to ensure the prisoner was unconscious before the final 2 drugs are administered.

In the State's response, filed Nov. 24, they argued that a stay of execution should not be granted as it had changed its execution procedure to include a test to confirm that the inmate is unconscious before the administration of the final 2 drugs. After considering the motions filed by both parties, the Supreme Court denied West and Irick's motions to postpone their scheduled executions.

West filed a motion to reconsider on Friday arguing that he was not afforded the opportunity to respond to the State's new execution procedure. The Supreme Court has granted West's motion to reconsider to allow the constitutionality of the new procedure to be fully tested in trial court.

The Supreme Court has directed the trial court to allow the parties to submit argument or evidence on the revised protocol, and the trial Court must render its final judgment within 90 days. The executions of West, Irick, Zagorski and Harbison are stayed pending any appeal of the trial court's judgment and until the State files motions to reset the execution dates of each prisoner.

Source: WDEF News, November 29, 2010

Tennessee Supreme Court Delays Execution For West

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued an order staying the execution of Stephen Michael West to allow the trial court to test the constitutionality of the state's new lethal injection procedure.

The Supreme Court issued the stay on Monday. West had been moved to death watch and was scheduled to die by lethal injection at 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

A 2-day evidentiary hearing in Davidson County Chancery Court found the state's lethal injection procedure to be unconstitutional because it did not ensure the prisoner was unconscious before the final 2 drugs are administered. The hearing was brought after West and another death row inmate, Billy Ray Irick, filed motions to stay their executions.

The state filed a response 2 days later that a stay of execution should not be granted as it had changed its execution procedure to include a test to confirm that the inmate is unconscious before the administration of the final 2 drugs. After considering the motions filed by both parties, the Supreme Court denied West and Irick's motions to postpone their scheduled executions.

On Friday, West filed a motion to reconsider arguing that he was not afforded the opportunity to respond to the State's new execution procedure. The Supreme Court has granted West's motion to reconsider to allow the constitutionality of the new procedure to be fully tested in trial court.

The Supreme Court has directed the trial court to allow the parties to submit argument or evidence on the revised protocol, and the trial Court must render its final judgment within 90 days.

The executions of West, Irick, Edmund Zagorski and Edward Jerome Harbison are stayed pending any appeal of the trial court's judgment and until the State files motions to reset the execution dates of each prisoner.

West was convicted in the 1986 stabbing deaths of Wanda Romines and her 15-year-old daughter, Sheila Romines, in Union County.

In 2001, he was hours away from death when a judge granted him a stay so he could pursue federal appeals, which he has since completed. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen declined to intervene when West's attorneys asked for clemency.

Source: newschannel 5, November 29, 2010

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