Tennessee executed Harold Wayne Nichols on Thursday for the 1988 rape and murder of 20-year-old Karen Pulley. Nichols had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death in 1990; his clemency request failed and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stay the execution. The state recently adopted a single-drug pentobarbital protocol after a 2022 review found testing problems with drugs used in prior executions. The case has renewed debate over execution methods, transparency and the administration of the death penalty.
Tennessee Executes Harold Wayne Nichols For 1988 Rape and Murder of College Student
This undated photo provided by Lisette Monroe Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, shows Karen Pulley outside her family home in Chattanooga, Tenn. / Credit: AP
Tennessee executed Harold Wayne Nichols by lethal injection Thursday in Nashville for the 1988 rape and murder of 20-year-old Chattanooga State University student Karen Pulley. Nichols, 64, had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death in 1990.
Confession, Remorse and Sentence
At trial Nichols admitted to killing Pulley and confessed to raping other women in the Chattanooga area. According to archived video from CBS affiliate WDEF, he expressed remorse yet acknowledged he likely would have continued committing violent acts if not arrested. He told the jury, "If I could trade places with Karen Pulley, I would," and in his final statement said, "To the people I harmed, I'm sorry."
Legal Challenges and Clemency Efforts
Nichols' attorneys sought clemency, arguing he had accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty. Their clemency petition noted that, if carried out, his execution would be the first in Tennessee of a person who pleaded guilty since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1978. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue a stay of execution.
Execution Method and Protocol Disputes
Earlier execution dates were postponed twice. A scheduled execution in August 2020 was reprieved because of the COVID-19 pandemic; at that time Nichols had chosen electrocution — an option available to inmates convicted before January 1999. Nichols declined to choose a method for the current date, so state officials carried out the sentence by lethal injection by default.
In December the Tennessee Department of Correction adopted a new single-drug protocol using pentobarbital after a 2022 independent review — ordered by Gov. Bill Lee — found that drugs prepared for seven inmates executed since 2018 had not been properly tested. Defense lawyers have challenged the new protocol in court; a trial in that matter is scheduled for the coming April. Nichols' attorney Stephen Ferrell said the department did not provide enough information about the new protocol for Nichols to make an informed choice.
Transparency, Records and Public Concern
Nichols' lawyers recently won a court order granting access to records from two prior executions under the new protocol, but the state has not released those records and plans to appeal. During Tennessee's last execution in August, inmate Byron Black said in his final moments he was "hurting so bad," a statement the state has not publicly explained.
Nationally, difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs and legal challenges over botched procedures have prompted some states to consider or adopt alternative execution methods, including firing squads and nitrogen hypoxia.
Reactions and Context
Pulley's sister, Lisette Monroe, described the 37-year wait for justice as "37 years of hell," and said she hopes the execution will allow her to remember her sister for happier times. Advocates, legal experts and officials continue to debate the logistics, transparency and ethics of capital punishment, including drug procurement, medical oversight and public disclosure.
By the numbers: Including Nichols, 45 men have been executed by court order in the U.S. so far this year. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Tennessee has 45 inmates on death row and three people have been granted clemency in the state.
