Killer Bryon Black's Final Words: Nashville Death Row Inmate Screams Over 'Painful' Execution For Brutal Slaying 37 Years Ago — Just Hours After Stuffing Face With One Last Meal
Tennessee executed an inmate on Tuesday.
Aug. 5 2025, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
A Tennessee death row inmate implanted with a heart-regulating device complained of "intense pain" as he was put to death Tuesday, August 5, for the 1998 murders of three women, RadarOnline.com can report.
Byron Black's declaration came after pleas to deactivate the device to avoid a "torturous death" were denied.
Black complained of pain during his lethal injection.
Black was convicted of the murders of his girlfriend Angela Clay and her two young daughters, LaToya and LaKeisha. The three were shot and killed in a Nashville home.
There were concerns the 69-year-old's heart device would try to continually shock him back to life during the lethal injection process. Witnesses of the execution reported that Black screamed out, "It’s hurting so bad," and began groaning in pain as the injection was administered.
All seven media witnesses agreed Black appeared to be in discomfort, and reported he could be heard sighing and breathing heavily.
Before the execution, his attorneys raised serious questions about whether officials would need to turn off his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD. Black was also in a wheelchair and suffering from dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure, and other conditions, his attorneys have said.
Stay Denied
On Monday, August 4, the United States Supreme Court denied all applications for a stay of execution, while Tennessee Gov. Lee also said he would not intervene.
Last night, Black was served a final meal that consisted of a pizza with mushrooms and sausage, donuts, and butter pecan ice cream.
Black became the 28th inmate executed in the U.S. this year – the highest total since 2015. There are still at least nine more executions scheduled before 2026.
His defense team will now carefully review autopsy results, EKG data, and information from the defibrillator to determine what exactly happened during the execution.
'Pure, Unbridled Bloodlust'
Black's final meal included a pizza.
After the execution, Black's attorney released a statement that read: "What happened here was the result of pure, unbridled bloodlust and cowardice. It was the brutal and unchecked abuse of government power. It was the result of a failed criminal legal system that countenanced, even rewarded, attorneys who told half-truths and untruths.
"Today, the State of Tennessee killed a gentle, kind, fragile, intellectually disabled man in violation of the laws of our country simply because they could. No one in a position of power, certainly not the courts, was willing to stop them.
"And if you think that what happened is just about one man, you are wrong. We are witnessing the erosion of the rule of law and every principle of human decency on which this country was founded. Today, it is Byron. Tomorrow, it will be someone you care about."
Rest in Peace
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The victims' family members released a statement.
A statement on behalf of one of the victim's family members said: "I thank God for this day, a day that was a long time coming. Thirty-seven years is too long and it’s not our fault. He got to take that up with the master, the redeemer, he brought this on himself.
"I’m thankful and grateful to see this day. The load and burden that has been lifted off our hearts, not just me, but my family. I thank God for making this happen.
"His family is going through the same thing now that we went through 37 years ago. I can’t say I’m sorry because we never got an apology. He never apologized and never admitted it, even on his dying bed, and he knows he did it."
"This is closure for my family, my sister and her two daughters can finally rest in peace," it concluded.
