Tennessee halts executions to conduct review after prisoner’s last-minute stay

Oscar Smith given reprieve and state to review lethal injection procedures, while Missouri prisoner Carman Deck denied stay

Tennessee is pausing executions to enable an independent review of its lethal injection procedures after a testing oversight forced the state to call off the execution of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die this month, the Republican governor, Bill Lee, said on Monday.

Ed Standon, a former US attorney, will review circumstances surrounding the testing of lethal injection chemicals, the clarity of the lethal injection process manual and Tennessee department of correction staffing considerations, Lee said.