NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee will step up its number of executions next year.
Four people are scheduled to be executed in 2026, which follows three executions this year.
It comes after Governor Bill Lee called for a pause in executions in 2022 due to concerns about the process.
The review found flaws and led to a new lethal injection protocol, but after the three executions in 2025, attorneys are raising new concerns.
They are concerned that the state may be using expired drugs, which would be less potent and could lead to suffering.
A judge ordered the state to release the expiration dates of the primary drug it uses. However, the state appealed the decision, and the information was not released prior to this week's execution of Harold Wayne Nichols.
"The state was very much opposed to giving us the expiration dates," said Nichols' attorney, Stephen Ferrell.
Ferrell said on Inside Politics that there is evidence Florida has used expired drugs in executions, and he wants to make sure it is not happening here.
"The less potent the drugs are the more drawn out and painful the execution risks being, and that is why there are expiration dates, because that's when you are supposed to stop using them," said Ferrell, who is with Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee.
The state has said its drug is not expired, but said releasing any information could reveal where Tennessee is getting the drug, which is protected by state law.
Death penalty opponents have pointed to Tennessee's execution of Byron Black earlier this year as proof of problems with the new lethal injection process.
"Mr. Black raised his head. He gasped. He said it hurts so bad, so the state has yet to address any of that," said Stacy Rector, who is Executive Director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
The debate comes as the number of executions nationwide has increased.
Nichols was the 45th person executed nationwide this year.
"If you take Florida out of the equation, we are about where we have been in the past. Florida has been a real outlier as far as the number of executions, but we are seeing a rise," Rector said on Inside Politics.
Tennessee is set to execute its first woman next year, Christina Pike, who was sentenced for the murder of a fellow inmate in 1995.
She would be the first woman executed in the state's modern history.
"We want answers to the questions we have, particularly about the expiration date and the types of drugs they are. Are they compounded or manufactured?" Ferrell asked.
Ferrell said Nichols will get an autopsy, which may shed light on how the drug worked.
"Basically, the lungs fill with fluid, and they drowned, and that's not instantaneous. It takes a while. And one of the things we hope to learn in the autopsy is were his lungs were filled with fluid and whether that's how he died," Ferrell said.
Nichols was executed for the rape and murder of college student Karen Pulley in 1988.
After the execution, her brother-in-law said justice was done.
"Our family was destroyed by evil that night in September 1988," Jeff Monroe said.
Ferrell said Nichols was a different man than the one who committed to horrible crime.
The debate over information about the execution drugs and the overall process will be a big focus in the executions scheduled for next year.
You can see the full interview with Ferrell and Rector on Inside Politics.
Inside Politics is also available as a podcast — just enter "Inside Politics Nashville" and start listening.
