Child murderer's five last words after injection on death row amid defibrillator row

A murderer who killed his girlfriend and her two children nearly four decades ago said "Oh, it's hurting so bad" after he was given a lethal injection on death row yesterday.

Byron Black died after around 10 minutes of the jab, administered after authorities refused to deactivate the killer's implanted defibrillator despite claims it might cause unnecessary, painful shocks in reaction to the drugs. Lying with his hands and chest restrained to the gurney, a sheet covering up past his lower half, and an IV line in his arm, Black, 69, said: "Oh, it's hurting so bad" following the injection at a jail in Nashville, Tennessee.

Throughout the execution, a spiritual advisor prayed and sang over Black, at one point touching his face. His attorney said they will review data kept by the device as part of an autopsy. It comes after a triple murderer thanked prison staff for "the most cold, calculated" execution moments before he was given a fatal injection in Florida.

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Black's legal team had argued for weeks for authorities to turn off his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. The pensioner used a wheelchair, had dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions, his attorneys said.

The nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center said it’s unaware of any other cases with similar claims to Black’s about device or pacemakers. The center insisted, though, there was evidence the drugs used on death row caused "unnecessary, painful shocks" to the implanted defibrillator.

And Black's lawyer described the execution was shameful. His attorney Kelley Henry said: "Today, the state of Tennessee killed a gentle, kind, fragile, intellectually disabled man in a violation of the laws of our country simply because they could."

Black was convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of his girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters; Latoya Clay, nine, and six-year-old Lakeisha Clay. Prosecutors said he was in a jealous rage when he shot the three at their home. At the time, Black was on work-release while serving time for shooting Miss Clay’s estranged husband.

Miss Clay's sister said Black will now face a higher power. Linette Bell, Miss Clay's sister, said in a statement read by a victim's advocate after the execution. She added: "His family is now going through the same thing we went through 37 years ago. I can't say I’m sorry because we never got an apology."

In mid-July, a trial court judge agreed with Black’s attorneys that officials must have to avert the risk that it could cause unnecessary pain and prolong the execution. However, Tennessee's Supreme Court overturned that decision Thursday, saying the other judge lacked authority to order the change.