TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Jul 10, 2020

Attorneys for death row inmate Harold Nichols late last month filed a federal lawsuit seeking to delay his Aug. 4 execution, the Associated Press reports. His attorneys argue that the Tennessee Supreme Court has twice denied his requests to reschedule his execution, but have delayed two other executions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They argue the pandemic has made them unable to prepare a clemency application for the governor and also say Nichols hasn’t been able to sufficiently meet with family, friends, attorneys or his spiritual advisor. They also claim the state attorney general and corrections officials haven’t provided a plan on how it will carry out an execution amid the pandemic. Nichols was convicted of rape and first-degree felony murder in the 1988 death of Karen Pulley in Hamilton County.