NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's attorney general wants the state Supreme Court to set eight execution dates before June 1, saying it's uncertain whether officials can get the lethal injection chemicals after that.
Attorney General Herbert Slatery's court filing Thursday says juries delivered death sentences decades ago, and each man has exhausted the three-tier appeals process.
The state's last execution was in 2009.
Slatery cited "ongoing difficulty" getting lethal injection drugs.
The filing says Tennessee uses a three-drug combination because death-penalty opponents worked with pharmaceutical companies to prevent Tennessee from obtaining the single drug it used, pentobarbital, while unsuccessfully suing over its use.
The filing says defendants want to delay execution to challenge the three-drug mix.
Three others are scheduled for 2018 executions. One has exhausted appeal options. He's scheduled to die Aug. 9.