Nine Tennessee death row inmates are suing the state over its efforts to schedule a new round of executions.
That move comes after an execution was abruptly called off in 2022 and a follow-up investigation found scores of missteps in several previous executions.
The lawsuit was filed March 14, months after officials announced a new lethal injection protocol using the drug pentobarbital.
The Tennessee Supreme Court recently agreed to schedule executions for four inmates, with the first set for May.
The lawsuit argues lethal injections with pentobarbital violate an Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. A Department of Correction spokesperson declined to comment on the suit.
