NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee says he delayed the execution of a Tennessee death row inmate because he did not believe the amount of resources needed to pull off an execution in the middle of a pandemic was the “right thing to do.”
The Republican announced last week that the execution of 59-year-old Harold Wayne Nichols would not take place this year. Lee had cited challenges caused by COVID-19 as the sole reason of temporarily delaying the planned Aug. 4 electrocution.
He told reporters Thursday that limited access to the state’s prisons — particularly to faith leaders who meet with death row inmates — heavily influenced his decision.
