Barring a reprieve, Byron Black’s execution will go forward amid concerns implanted defibrillator will shock his heart

Tennessee is set to execute an inmate on Tuesday without deactivating his implanted defibrillator, as uncertainty lingers about whether the device will shock his heart when a lethal drug takes effect.

Barring a late reprieve requested from the governor or the courts, Byron Black’s execution will go forward after a legal back-and-forth over whether the state would need to turn off his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD. The non-profit Death Penalty Information Center said it’s unaware of any other cases in which an inmate was making similar claims to Black about ICDs or pacemakers.