NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An electrocardiogram monitoring the heart of a Tennessee inmate executed by lethal injection in August showed “sustained cardiac activity” nearly two minutes after Byron Black was pronounced dead, his attorney told a judge on Friday.

The comments by Kelley Henry came during a hearing over whether attorneys for Black and several current death row inmates will be allowed to depose the key people who carry out Tennessee executions. It is part of a lawsuit in Chancery Court in Nashville that challenges the state's latest lethal injection protocol, claiming it violates both federal and state constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment.

In the hearing, state Deputy Attorney General Cody Brandon argued that requiring members of the execution team to testify risks expo

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