Lifting an earlier temporary injunction he had issued (see prior posting), a Tennessee federal district court judge has ruled that an autopsy can be performed on the body of executed prisoner Philip Workman. Workman, a Seventh Day Adventist, had requested on religious grounds that no autopsy be performed and that no chemicals or fluids be removed from his body. Judge Todd J. Campbell, however, ruled Tuesday that, while Workman's religious objections were sincere, the state has a "compelling interest in assessing the effects of the lethal injection protocol that has been the subject of widespread constitutional challenge in recent years." The Associated Press reporting on the ruling, says that the judge also ordered that no autopsy be performed until after May 24 in order to give Workman's family time to appeal the ruling.
UPDATE: Nashville's News Channel 5 reported on Thursday that Workman's family has reached an agreement with the state medical examiner to permit him to perform an autopsy on Workman, but in a way that is minimally invasive.
