As Tennessee Legislature Ends, Two Death-Penalty Bills Fail and One Passes

Bills to alter the state’s method of exe­cu­tion and to make the exe­cu­tion process more trans­par­ent failed in Tennessee’s leg­is­la­ture this year as its ses­sion con­clud­ed. In an effort to facil­i­tate exe­cu­tions bogged down by the state’s prob­lems with lethal injec­tion, a bill was pro­posed to give pris­on­ers the option of the fir­ing squad for their exe­cu­tion. Following an inde­pen­dent inves­ti­ga­tion into Tennessee’s lethal injec­tion pro­to­cols, Governor Bill Lee (R) had sus­pend­ed exe­cu­tions on January 5, 2023. 

Another bill would have made the iden­ti­ties of those who com­pound, dis­trib­ute, and man­u­fac­ture lethal injec­tion drugs, as well as indi­vid­u­als involved in the exe­cu­tion, a mat­ter of pub­lic record. One of the spon­sors of the bill, Rep. Jeffrey Lafferty (R), said, ​“If Tennessee wants to con­tin­ue this as a method of exe­cu­tion, the secre­cy around the process should prob­a­bly come to an end.” Both bills failed to pass.

One bill that did pass at the end of the ses­sion gives the state’s Attorney General con­trol over post-con­vic­tion pro­ceed­ings in cap­i­tal cas­es, rather than the local District Attorneys. This bill appeared to be aimed at some new­ly elect­ed DAs who are sup­port­ive of more restora­tive jus­tice poli­cies. The bill was sent to the gov­er­nor for signing.