NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Attorneys for the state say Tennessee’s Supreme Court shouldn’t consider an expert’s conclusions about “tortuous effects” of the latest execution in a challenge of the state’s lethal injection protocol.
The state’s filing this week says the expert wasn’t cross-examined and offered a medical opinion based on hearsay and media accounts.
In a previous filing for inmates challenging the protocol, Dr. David Lubarsky concluded based on media witness accounts that inmate Billy Ray Irick would’ve felt like he was choking. Lubarsky said Irick would’ve felt like he was drowning in his own fluids, suffocating, being buried alive and burning during his Aug. 9 execution.
Tennessee’s response says inmates’ attorneys want a retrial, which is outside of court rules and appellate jurisdiction. Oral arguments are slated for Oct. 3. The next execution is scheduled for Oct. 11.