Tennessee executions off; tests cited

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gov. Bill Lee paused executions in Tennessee for the rest of the year Monday after revealing that the state had failed to ensure its lethal injection drugs were properly tested. The oversight forced Lee to abruptly halt the execution of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die last month.

Lee did not initially disclose the reason for stopping the execution other than to say there was an “oversight” in the preparation of the lethal injection drugs. Tennessee’s execution protocols require any compounded drugs to be independently tested for potency, sterility and endotoxins. Lee said Monday the drugs for Smith’s execution were tested for potency and sterility but not endotoxins.

Smith’s attorneys last week called for a moratorium on executions and independent review of the problems.cq On Monday, federal public defender Kelley Henry said the Republican governor’s decision shows “great leadership.”

“The use of compounded drugs in the context of lethal injection is fraught with risk,” Henry said. “The failure to test for endotoxins is a violation of the protocol. Governor Lee did the right thing by stopping executions because of this breach.”

In a Monday news conference, Lee said the testing problem was noticed shortly before the execution “because there are checklists made on that day to make sure that everything was done correctly. And that process determined that there was a step not followed.”

Lee appointed former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to review the circumstances that led to the failure. He’ll also review the clarity of the state’s lethal injection manual and look at Tennessee Department of Correction staffing considerations, Lee said.