Tennessee cannot execute death row inmate Edmund Zagorski as scheduled Thursday unless prison officials give his attorney access to a phone during the final minutes of his life, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger granted a temporary restraining order Monday, saying the state must allow Zagorski's lawyer to have "immediate access to a telephone during the time preceding and during the execution."
The move throws a wrench into the state's plans, but it could be a relatively easy fix.
If the state allows federal public defender Kelley Henry, Zagorski's attorney, access to a cell phone or land line, Trauger's ruling would be satisfied and the execution could move forward.
State attorneys had fought against the request for a phone, part of a last-minute challenge Zagorski's attorneys filed Friday.
It remains unclear how they'll react to the order.
A spokeswoman for the Tennessee attorney general's office said Tuesday morning that the state had no comment.
If the state wants to continue fighting against a phone, officials could appeal Trauger's ruling to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals before the execution date.
Henry had argued it was vital to have access to a phone during the execution so she could alert a judge if something went wrong.
In her order, Trauger said earlier federal court rulings had supported Henry's argument.
Trauger dismissed other claims in the last-minute execution challenge. Zagorski's attorneys had claimed it was unconstitutional to force him to pick between the electric chair and lethal injection.
Trauger tossed that argument out. Zagorski's attorneys plan to appeal on that issue, in hopes that the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals might rule before the execution date.
Zagorski, 63, was convicted of murdering John Dale Dotson and Jimmy Porter in April 1983. He shot them, slit their throats and stole their money and a truck.
Source: eu.tennessean.com, Adam Tamburin, October 30, 2018
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