In December 2024, the Tennessee Department of Correction issued a new execution protocol that uses a single drug, pentobarbital.
November 10, 2025
high
policy
Change to the state's lethal-injection protocol specifying a single-drug regimen.
Reported Tennessee Department of Correction execution procedures position media witnesses to begin observing only after the condemned person has been strapped to a gurney and connected to intravenous lines, with personnel who administer injections located in a separate room from media witnesses.
October 29, 2025
high
procedural
Described operational arrangement for media observation during lethal injection executions.
Reported Tennessee execution protocol outlines that after syringes containing saline and pentobarbital are administered a team leader signals the warden, a five-minute waiting period begins, then blinds are closed and cameras turned off before a medical professional determines death and the warden announces that the sentence was carried out.
October 29, 2025
high
procedural
Step-by-step elements of the execution protocol as described in reporting.