Tennessee Republican lawmakers are ready to change the state’s death penalty laws in the wake of two botched executions by lethal injection, including a renewed look at electrocution and firing squads.
Republican Rep. Jody Barrett of Dickson confirmed this week he is considering sponsoring legislation in 2027 to make firing squads a method for putting people to death, even though one Democratic lawmaker called the practice “depraved.”
Republican Sen. Tom Hatcher also said he is having a bill drafted that would either remove lethal injection from the execution process or reform it based on the results of a third-party investigation Gov. Bill Lee ordered after the failed execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike in September. Hatcher, a first-term senator from Maryville, acknowledged that eliminating lethal injection would leave electrocution as the only way allowed to put people to death.
“I think we’ve gotta do away with lethal injections,” Hatcher said. Short of that, he said the process needs to be changed and possibly have a standard third-party investigation for each execution, regardless of the outcome “to keep us and the public aware of what’s going on.”
He added he has spoken with other lawmakers who are looking at other options but said he’s not filing a bill for alternatives.
Tennessee allows death row inmates convicted before 1999 to choose the electric chair. Electrocution also is allowed if lethal injections drugs are unavailable or if lethal injection is found unconstitutional.
Asked what steps he would take if the governor’s third-party investigation comes back with a report saying lethal injections can be carried out effectively, Hatcher said it wouldn’t conflict with his plans and noted he could file legislation that could be amended based on the final report.
Barrett confirmed he’s exploring all options, including a firing squad. Other lawmakers, including Republican Rep. Paul Sherrell, broached the idea recently of public hangings to deter crime.
“After the trouble we’ve had with at least the last four years with the lethal injection, all alternatives need to be looked at,” Barrett said.
Such moves are likely to run into legal challenges that could last for years.
Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn called the use of firing squads and hangings “depraved and ungodly.”
The governor put a last-minute hold on executions in May 2022 before the execution of Oscar Smith because the state failed to conduct required testing for the lethal injection drugs.
Former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton, who is handling the newest probe, conducted a previous third-party investigation of the state’s protocol, chemical testing and Department of Correction procedures. That study led to new protocol, yet two of the state’s last three executions failed this year.
A group of Republican senators urged Lee to conduct another investigation of the state’s death penalty procedures before the botched Pike execution, but he declined.
Barrett said Utah and South Carolina are using firing squads to carry out the death penalty and added that some experts are testifying that a firing squad is more humane than other alternatives, “a quicker, more painless death.” Other states allowing use of firing squads are Oklahoma, Mississippi and Idaho, the latter of which makes firing squads the principal means of execution.
“If that’s truly the case, I think it’s something we should explore as a state, as a possible alternative to what we’re doing currently that doesn’t seem to be working very smoothly,” Barrett said.
Barrett said he’s been “adamant” for six to eight months that the state’s lethal injection protocol needs more “transparency.” If problems can’t be resolved by changing the protocol, lawmakers need to consider other methods as long as the state keeps the death penalty, he said.
Sen. Ken Yager also is among those saying the state needs to find other options, though he declined to say Wednesday whether he supports the use of firing squads.
“When a convicted murderer is sentenced to death, the state must be able to carry out the lawful sentence effectively. As we examine the best path forward to improve the process, I am open to considering other constitutionally sound methods of execution to ensure justice is delivered for victims and their families,” Yager, a Kingston Republican, said in a statement.
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