Emergency application · Capital case
Intellectual disability and execution
Byron Lewis Black v. Tennessee
What did the Court do?
The Court denied the request on August 4, 2025 and refused to halt the execution.
Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.
What's being asked
Byron Black, a prisoner sentenced to death, asks the Supreme Court to pause his execution, scheduled for August 5. He also asks the Court to agree to hear his case. Black argues that he has an intellectual disability and is ineligible for the death penalty; he says Tennessee agreed he is ineligible.
What the Court did
The Court refused to pause Black's execution (denied his request for a stay, a temporary pause). It also refused to hear Black's case (denied Supreme Court review), which does not decide his eligibility for the death penalty. The Court did not publish how the justices voted.
What it means
The emergency request was for a temporary pause; its denial does not decide whether Black is eligible for the death penalty. The denial leaves the Tennessee Supreme Court, Middle Division, ruling in place; it does not show the U.S. Supreme Court agreed. The docket lists no related merits case and no argument date.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A118. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.