Five years after last execution, Tennessee attorney general looks to resume killings

The Tennessee Attorney General's Office is asking the state Supreme Court to set execution dates for five people on death row, five years after the state last put a person to death.

The Attorney General's Office on Friday filed motions asking the court to set execution dates for Kevin Burns, Jon Douglas Hall, Kennath Artez Henderson, Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines and William Glenn Rogers, according to a spokesperson for the office.

The motions are the next step in the process to resume executions in Tennessee after they were paused in 2022.

The Tennessee Department of Correction in December finalized a new lethal injection protocol using a single drug, pentobarbital, a switch from the previous method of execution, which used a three-drug mixture. Gov. Bill Lee paused all executions in the state in May 2022 due to concerns over the drugs used in lethal injection, and audits found the corrections department had failed to follow the previous execution protocol for years, resulting in condemned prisoners likely being killed with expired, compromised or untested drugs.

Less than a month after Tennessee released its new protocol, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it was abandoning pentobarbital for use in executions, citing concerns over "unnecessary pain and suffering."

A handful of the 46 people on death row in Tennessee already had execution dates set before they were granted a reprieve at the time of Lee's 2022 announcement. It is up to the Tennessee Supreme Court to determine what order the executions may be set for, according to a Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts spokesperson.

While executions were halted in 2022, the state had not put anyone to death since February 2020, when it killed Nicholas Sutton by electric chair. All five people the state is seeking execution dates for could choose to die by electrocution, which is an option for people who were sentenced to death before 1999, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction.

Kevin Riggs, a Franklin pastor who has visited death row for years and co-authored a book with Burns, one of the men the state is looking to execute, called the decision to resume capital punishment in the state a waste of time and resources.

"Nothing has happened because these men haven't been executed," Riggs said. "No one else has been harmed because they haven't been executed, so it's just a waste of time and resources. There's no reason for it."

The development mirrors a trend in three other states that are resuming executions in March after as long as 15 years without putting a condemned person to death.

Burns, 55, was sentenced to death after a Shelby County jury convicted him of felony murder for the 1992 killing of Damond Dawson. Burns was part of a group of men who carried out a robbery that ended in the fatal shootings of 17-year-old Dawson and 20-year-old Tracey Johnson, and Burns maintains he did not pull the trigger. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in his case, although a justice said there was a "very robust possibility" Burns did not kill either victim.

Hall, 60, was sentenced to death after a Madison County jury convicted him of murder for the 1994 killing of his wife, Billie Jo Hall.

Henderson, 50, was sentenced to death after he pleaded guilty to killing Fayette County Deputy Tommy Bishop during an attempted escape from the Fayette County Jail in 1997.

Hines, 64, was sentenced to death after a Cheatham County jury convicted him of murder in the 1985 killing and rape of Katherine Jean Jenkins, a hotel maid.

Rogers, 62, was sentenced to death after a Montgomery County jury convicted him of murder in the 1996 killing of 9-year-old Jacqueline "Jackie" Beard. His death sentence was briefly vacated by a federal appeals court in 2022 due to concerns over the quality of his legal representation during the sentencing phase of his trial.

The five other people who were granted a reprieve in 2022 were Oscar Franklin Smith, whose execution was scheduled for April 21, 2022, but was granted a reprieve an hour before he was scheduled to die; Harold Wayne Nichols, whose execution was scheduled for June 9, 2022; Byron Lewis Black, whose execution was set for Aug. 18, 2022; Gary Wayne Sutton, whose execution was scheduled for Oct. 6, 2022; and Donald Ray Middlebrooks, whose execution was scheduled for Dec. 8, 2022.

Source: tennessean.com, Evan Mealins, February 18, 2025

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Instagram | Telegram | Contact Us

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Comments

Iran: flogging still a common practice

Flogging of Sufis in Gonabad: Fourteen Ne’matollahi dervishes received 25 lashes each for allegedly disturbing the public security Public flogging in Iran "The lash ruling against 14 Ne'matollahi dervishes of Gonabad was carried out. They were residents of Baydokht and had been arrested and condemned by the Public Prosecutor of Gonabad after a protest against the illegal treatment dealing with the Sufis in June of last year [2010]. According to the website of Majzuban-e-Nur, Mr. Sa'id Kashani, Mr. Amir Roshan-Mojaver-Sufi, Mr. Alimohammad Amanian, Mr. Ruhollah Safari, Mr. Ali Abbasi-Baydokhti, Mr. Ebrahim Abbaszadeh, Mr. Mohammadali Ja'fari, Mr. Hossein Mahdavi, Mr. Hossein Abbaszadeh-Baydokhti, Mr. Rahmat Hosseini, Mr. Reza Kakhki, Mr. Behruz Mojaver-Sufi, Mr. Ali Mir, and Mr. Hassan Baluchi-Baydokhti are the fourteen dervishes whose requests were not only rejected, but who were condemned to 25 lashes for disturbing the public security. It should be mentioned th...

I watched Ohio's last execution. Here's what it was like

As Gov. DeWine calls for Ohio to end capital punishment, the state’s last execution remains the one I witnessed in 2018 Inside Ohio's death house, there is a room for executions and separate witness rooms: one for those connected to the victim and another for those connected to the inmate. Windows separate the death chamber from those watching, the condemned from the living. I was there on July 18, 2018 – during Ohio’s most recent execution. Robert Van Hook was put to death that day for killing David Self in 1985. He sat on death row for three decades. I was one of three media witnesses to the execution.

Japan’s Internet Wants Uchida Riko Executed. Here’s Why That Won’t Happen

This week, the prosecution in the case of a murder of a 17-year-old girl in Hokkaido came out with its sentencing recommendation. Japanese social media reacted by clamoring for the accused woman’s blood. But, while the facts of the case are heinous, the prosecutor’s decision not to seek the death penalty is grounded in long-standing precedent. Murdered for looking at the accused wrong Uchida Riko (内田梨瑚), 23, and her friends stand accused of murdering 17-year-old Murayama Runa (村山瑠奈) in Hokkaido’s Asahikawa. Prosecutors say the dispute began after Murayama posted a photo of Uchida to social media. They say Uchida’s group abducted the girl, made her undress, and then forced her to jump from a bridge.

Kansas AG urges governor to deny clemency to 8 sentenced to death

TOPEKA — Attorney General Kris Kobach on Tuesday urged the governor to deny clemency to Kansas inmates who have been sentenced to death. Eight of nine people sentenced to death in Kansas formally filed clemency requests in May, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office. Kobach urged Gov. Laura Kelly to reject them.

Gov. Mike DeWine calls for Ohio to abolish the death penalty

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday morning called on Ohio to abolish the death penalty, citing data that he said proves it is no longer a deterrent to violent crime. “For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,” DeWine said. “I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made.” DeWine cited data showing a decline in the last four decades of executions being carried out and an increase in the time inmates spend on death row.

New Mississippi billboard warns criminals: ‘Firing squad is legal’

DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. (WREG) — A billboard standing on Interstate 55 southbound as you cross the Tennessee state line and enter Mississippi from Memphis is sending a grim message to those coming into the state. DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton recently announced the new billboard campaign, which features the sign reading, “WELCOME TO MISSISSIPPI. WHERE THE FIRING SQUAD IS LEGAL. THINK TWICE.” It references Mississippi’s law permitting execution by firing squad under certain circumstances for inmates sentenced to death. Barton says this campaign is aimed at deterring violent crime and sends a direct message to criminals entering Mississippi.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

With nitrogen gas blocked, Alabama seeks to execute inmate by lethal injection

Jeffery Lee, who successfully challenged his scheduled Thursday execution by nitrogen gas, argued that execution by firing squad would be less painful. The Alabama Attorney General’s Office Friday sought to put an Alabama death row inmate to death by lethal injection a day after the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed the state’s attempt to execute him by nitrogen gas. In a filing with the Alabama Supreme Court Friday afternoon, the state sought an expedited motion to set a new execution date for Jeffery Lee, 49. The state said that with a permanent injunction in place against nitrogen gas, the method by which the state intended to execute Lee on Thursday, it could execute him by lethal injection or the electric chair.

Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch wanted an execution that a Trump judge deemed illegal

The Supreme Court these days is generally in the business of helping executions go forward. But on Thursday night, the court did something notable: It told Alabama no. Even then, the court wasn't unanimous. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the refusal to let the nitrogen gas execution of Jeffery Lee proceed. What prompted the rare rejection? In line with the typical shadow docket practice, the court didn't explain itself. Nor did the dissenters, who merely noted their disagreement. But a deeper look at the case helps us understand why a majority of the court was unwilling to help the state this time.

SCOTUS: Alabama can’t execute Jeffery Lee by nitrogen; Thursday execution called off

After a week of legal volleyball, Alabama death row inmate Jeffery Lee’s execution—scheduled for Thursday evening—was called off after federal courts called the state’s nitrogen gas execution method “likely unconstitutional.” The state took the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping Lee could still be put to death tonight. In an order issued at 8:10 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that it would not lift a ban on Alabama executing Lee via nitrogen . In a short court order, the justices denied Alabama’s motion to go ahead with the execution. Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch would have granted the appeal and let the execution proceed, according to the order.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog