Tennessee is set to hold its first execution in nearly a decade on Thursday, Aug. 9 when it plans to put to death by lethal injection a man convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl he was babysitting.
Lawyers for inmate Billy Irick, 59, launched a last-minute appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to spare his life, saying he has suffered from psychosis for his entire life and putting him to death would violate legal norms barring the execution of people with severe mental disorders or disabilities.
