Inmate screams in pain as state refuses
Execution After Decades
Byron Black was executed by lethal injection in Tennessee,
nearly 40 years after killing his girlfriend Angela Clay,
29, and her daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6.
Prosecutors said he acted in a “jealous rage.”
The Crimes
In 1988, Black shot Angela and her daughters while on work release for shooting Angela’s estranged husband.
“My kids, they were babies,” Bennie Clay said. “They never got the chance.”
The Execution
During the procedure, Black cried out, “Oh, it’s hurting so bad,” raising concerns his defibrillator caused unnecessary suffering.
His lawyer argued, “I interpret that my client was tortured today.”
The state Supreme Court had overturned a lower court’s order to deactivate the device.
Family Reactions
Angela’s sister Linette Bell said, “I can’t say I’m sorry
, because we never got an apology.”
Others online felt his suffering was deserved: “Finally felt just a little of what he put others through.”
