PRES. TRUMP AWARDED INAUGURAL FIFA PEACE PRIZE AT WORLD CUP DRAW IN WASHINGTON . (PHOTOS).
Tennessee death row inmate Harold Wayne Nichols declined to choose between the electric chair and lethal injection for his December 11 execution, leaving the state to proceed with lethal injection by default. Nichols, convicted in 1990 of raping and murdering 21-year-old Chattanooga State University student Karen Pulley, has two weeks to change his decision, according to the Tennessee Department of Corrections. Nichols had previously opted for the electric chair in 2020, but his execution was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under state law, inmates convicted before January 1999 may choose electrocution instead of lethal injection.
Tennessee has used the electric chair in only five executions over the past decade, though it remains an option in several other states, including Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina. Nichols’ case comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Tennessee’s execution methods. In 2022, Governor Bill Lee halted executions following revelations that lethal injection drugs had not been properly tested. A subsequent independent review confirmed that none of the drugs used in executions since 2018 met the required standards. The state later adopted a new single-drug protocol using pentobarbital, which is currently being challenged in court. Nichols, who admitted to Pulley’s murder and several other rapes, expressed remorse during his trial, telling jurors that he wished he could “trade places” with his victim.
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