KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Governor Bill Lee said the states was working to resume executions, after an effective pause on the state's death penalty has continued for more than two years.
He visited the L&N STEM Academy in downtown Knoxville on Thursday, where he spoke with students learning about cybersecurity, nuclear energy and technologically-focused skills. While speaking with reporters at the school, he also discussed the state's work to resume executions of inmates on death row.
The state recently sent another person to death row — Sean Finnegan. He was convicted of torturing and killing a woman in Oak Ridge.
"I think it's important that we move as quickly as we can, but take as long as we need to, to make sure we get it right. I've tasked our team with getting a protocol in place. This has to be done, it's the law of our state. We need to be in a position to fulfill that law. But as you know, if you don't have the correct protocols in place, then the outcomes are not what any of us want in this state," Lee said.
In April 2022, Lee paused executions moments before an inmate was scheduled to die. He launched an independent review of the state's lethal injection preparation process after an "oversight" was discovered just before Oscar Smith's execution.
According to The Associated Press, lawsuits and a report showed the state struggled to follow its own lethal injection rules at several steps, including the chemicals' testing and storage. The report said problems have persisted since 2018.
"I suspect that we are closer than further from having a protocol in place and will be allowed then to continue that process," Lee said.
The state recently added child rape convictions to the list of crimes for which people could face the death penalty, and lawmakers said they expected the law to end up in court. The Death Penalty Information Center said 27 states allow for the death penalty, and six of those have paused executions for a variety of reasons.
