"Death row inmates sue to stop electric chair ‘torture’," is by Brian Haas at the Tennessean.
A group of 10 death row inmates suing over lethal injection in Tennessee argued on Friday that the state’s backup plan -- the electric chair -- is an unconstitutional “torture device.”
The inmates are locked in a battle with the state over whether they have a right to know how they will be killed and who will do the killing. Their lawsuit stems from a 2013 law that makes nearly all information about lethal injection secret. Friday’s lawsuit targets a 2014 law Gov. Bill Haslam signed that makes the electric chair the state’s official backup if lethal injection is declared unconstitutional or if the necessary drugs are unavailable.
Attorneys for the inmates say that no other state -- or any government in the world -- imposes electrocution on the condemned.
“The state of Tennessee stands alone as the only jurisdiction in the world to involuntarily impose the electric chair on its condemned citizens,” said Kelley Henry, a federal public defender involved in the lawsuit. “Even when the chair works exactly as it is intended, it is a torture device.”
Earlier coverage from Tennessee begins at the link. You can also jump to news of the electric chair legislation. Related posts are in the electric chair category index.
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