STOP the Execution of Byron Black

Tennessee intends to execute Byron Black on August 5, 2025 for the 1988 murders of Latoya Clay and her daughters Lakeisha and Angela.

We oppose this execution as we do every execution. Capital punishment is an act of state sanctioned violence that violates the sacred dignity of every human life. In the words of Saint Pope John Paul II, “The dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil.” 

Byron has been on death row for 35 years. Every expert who has examined Byron agrees that he is a person with intellectual disability. Even the State’s key expert agrees. Based on those intellectual disability determinations, in 2022, the Davidson County District Attorney General stipulated that Byron is a person with intellectual disability, but the courts refused to consider the issue based on procedural grounds.

Now, he is 69-year-old man who is suffering from many physical and cognitive health issues such as: end-stage kidney disease, congestive heart failure, and prostate cancer. His heart is so weak that last year, he underwent surgery to implant an automatic defibrillator device and he requires a wheelchair to move more than a few steps.

His execution would not serve justice—it would mark an irreversible act of cruelty against a profoundly physically and mentally impaired man who poses no threat to anyone and would leave his entire family, who cherish him, devastated.

If carried out, this execution would mark the second since the state resumed executions following a five-year pause.

Contact Gov. Lee today and urge him to stop this execution from going forward.