All articles tagged with #electric chair
Tennessee death row inmate Harold Wayne Nichols declined to choose his preferred method of execution, resulting in the state defaulting to lethal injection for his scheduled Dec. 11 execution. Nichols, convicted of murder and rape, had previously chosen the electric chair but did not specify a preference this time. The state has been updating its lethal injection protocols due to concerns over drug testing and execution methods.
South Carolina is seeking to reinstate the electric chair and firing squad for executions, arguing that painless deaths are not mandated by law. Four inmates on death row are challenging the use of these methods, citing concerns about the secrecy surrounding the new lethal injection drug and the potential for cruel and unusual punishment. The state has not proposed adding nitrogen gas, like Alabama, which recently performed the first execution using the toxic chemical. The lack of lethal injection drugs has led to a halt in capital punishment in South Carolina for nearly 13 years, with many prosecutors now opting for life in prison without parole instead of seeking the death penalty.