Gov. Haslam speaks about delay on execution
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday spoke publicly for the first time about his decision earlier in the month to delay Edmund Zagorski’s execution, saying he was not wavering on the case, just ensuring the state was prepared to use the electric chair.
“The point of the reprieve was just when the method changed,” Haslam told reporters after an event in Nashville. “You’re always open and listening, but the purpose of the reprieve was not to reconsider the circumstance.”
Haslam announced the 10-day reprieve last week, after Zagorski, who has been on death row for 34 years for murdering John Dale Dotson and Jimmy Porter, sued in an effort to force the state to execute him using the electric chair rather than lethal injection. The state initially denied Zagorski’s request, claiming it came too late in the process.
Haslam stepped in soon after U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger barred the state from using lethal injection to kill Zagorski until she had considered the lawsuit.
The governor said Thursday given the “fairly extraordinary circumstances,” he thought it was important to take a step back.
Although Department of Correction Commissioner Tony Parker told the governor that the state was ready to execute Zagorski on Oct. 11, Haslam wanted the state to have more time.
“I said let’s just make certain that we’re prepared in the exact right way,” said Haslam.
Both Haslam and the attorney general’s office previously have indicated the state is prepared to proceed with the electric chair — a fact which the governor reaffirmed Thursday.
Haslam said he is uncertain about when the Tennessee Supreme Court might set a new execution date. “We don’t interact with them. We have our role, they have their role,” he said.
The state Supreme Court can reschedule Zagorski’s execution date after the reprieve expires on Oct. 21. They must set a new date at least a week in advance, meaning the soonest the execution could occur is the week of Oct. 28.