Friday, February 9, 2007
Story last updated at 4:46 p.m. on Friday, February 9, 2007

Excerpt from Tennessee's execution manual

The Associated Press

1. The Warden shall contact the Commissioner to insure that no last minute stay or respite has been granted.

2. The Warden will permit the condemned inmate to make a last statement.

3. The Extraction Team will secure the head set.

4. The Facility Manager will check the electrodes to insure they are properly attached.

5. The Assistant Facility Manager will proceed to electrical control panel and activate for execution.

6. The Warden will give the signal to proceed and the Executioner will engage the automatic rheostat. The Administrative Assistant or designate will record the time the process began. When current has been on for required time, the rheostat will automatically disengage.

7. Once the cycle runs its course, the Facility Manager indicates the current is off. The Administrative Assistant or designate will record the time the current is disengaged.

8. The Facility manager will disconnect electrical cables in rear of chair.

9. Following the completion of the lethal injection process, and a five-minute waiting period, the blinds to the official witness room closed, closed-circuit TV camera disengaged, and privacy curtain closed, the Warden will ask the physician to enter the room to conduct an examination. If the inmate is not dead, the physician will return to the designated waiting area. The curtain will be opened, blinds raised, camera activated, and the Warden shall give the command to repeat the lethal injection procedure. After this procedure is completed, the blinds will once again be closed, closed-circuit TV camera disengaged, and the privacy curtain closed. The Warden will once again ask the physician to enter the room and check for signs of life. The physician shall then report his findings to the Warden or designee.

10. The inmate is pronounced dead. the Administrative Assistant or designate records the time that death is pronounced.

___

Source: "Manual of Execution," Tennessee Department of Execution.