TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Oct 29, 2025

Federal attorneys representing a Tennessee death row inmate are suing the state for allegedly denying them access to execution records. Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, which represents Harold Wayne Nichols, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Knox County Chancery Court against the Tennessee Department of Correction, WSMV reports. The attorneys argue that a state secrecy statute prevents the release of records that normally would be public, including information about lethal injection drugs, testing and execution procedures. The lawsuit claims the department has repeatedly denied requests for nonconfidential data related to past executions, including those of Oscar Smith and Byron Black. Witnesses at Black’s execution reported that he appeared to be in distress. Nichols, who was convicted of the 1988 rape and murder of a woman in Chattanooga, must choose his method of execution by Nov. 11, but his attorneys say he cannot make an informed decision without access to the records. He is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 11.