Byron Lewis Black
Byron Black, 69, had dementia and congestive heart failure when Tennessee executed him by lethal injection at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on August 5, 2025. His defense team warned that a heart defibrillator in his chest could deliver painful shocks and prolong the execution. Tennessee's highest court declined to intervene, and prison officials left the device on, according to ProPublica's reporting. Witnesses said that after the drugs began flowing he lifted his head, groaned, and said it was hurting badly.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Witnesses said he groaned and said it was hurting badly after the drugs began flowing, and his defense team had warned that a defibrillator in his chest could cause painful shocks and prolong the execution.
Reported by: Vocal.media roundup of 2025 U.S. executions (reporters); execution witnesses.