Attorneys representing Tennessee death row inmates previously alleged that the state appeared to have obtained pentobarbital through the "gray market," citing manufacturer restrictions that they said prohibited the drug from being sold for use in executions.
The allegation was detailed in an April 10, 2025 request to Gov. Bill Lee seeking a reprieve for death row inmates Oscar Smith and Byron Black while a legal challenge to Tennessee's then-new execution protocol proceeded.
"If the chemicals are manufactured, then it appears nearly certain that TDOC has procured the chemicals from the gray market," Kelley Henry and Amy Harwell of the Federal Public Defender's Capital Habeas Unit wrote in the request.
The attorneys wrote that every manufacturer of pentobarbital had placed distribution controls prohibiting sales of its products to corrections departments for executions. If Tennessee had obtained commercially manufactured pentobarbital, they argued, the drug would therefore have been acquired "outside the approved and tightly controlled commercial stream."
Tennessee officials subsequently claimed that the pentobarbital used in the state's executions was commercially manufactured, Nashville Public Radio reported in December 2025.
The Tennessee Department of Correction has, however, declined to publicly identify its pentobarbital supplier, according to the outlet. State law protects identifying information about people and entities involved in procuring drugs and other supplies used in executions.
The allegations have resurfaced following Tennessee's unsuccessful attempt to execute Pike, 50, on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
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