Tennessee to electrocute second inmate in as many months

Source: Associated Press


Travis Loller, Associated Press
Updated 1:07 pm CST, Thursday, December 6, 2018

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee inmate is scheduled to become the second person to die in the state's electric chair in as many months Thursday evening, nearly two decades after the state adopted lethal injection as its preferred method of execution.

Both David Earl Miller, 61, and Edmund Zagorski before him chose the electric chair over lethal injection, a process proponents said would be painless and humane.

But the inmates argued in court that Tennessee's current midazolam-based method causes a prolonged and torturous death. They pointed injection as its preferred method of execution.

Both David Earl Miller, 61, and Edmund Zagorski before him chose the electric chair over lethal injection, a process proponents said would be painless and humane.

But the inmates argued in court that Tennessee's current midazolam-based method causes a prolonged and torturous death. They pointed to the August execution of Billy Ray Irick, which took around 20 minutes and during which he coughed and huffed before turning a dark purple.

Their case was thrown out, largely because a judge said they failed to prove a more humane alternative was available. Zagorski was executed Nov. 1. Gov. Bill Haslam declined Thursday to intervene in Miller's planned execution.



Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Tennessee-to-electrocute-second-inmate-in-as-many-13446361.php