Convicted Rapist and Murderer Harold Wayne Nichols Seeks Supreme Court Appeal to Delay Execution
An East Ridge man who was convicted of the rape and murder of Karen Pulley in 1988 is seeking to delay his scheduled execution. Harold Wayne Nichols, set to be executed by lethal injection on December 11, is now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution. Nichols argues that his Equal Protection rights were violated by the State of Tennessee and questions the constitutionality of the state's lethal injection protocol. He pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of Pulley in her Brainerd home when she was 20 years old and was sentenced to death by a jury in 1990. Despite attempts by his attorney to remove him from death row following a law change in 2018, Nichols remains on death row. Nichols also has convictions for 11 other rapes or attempted rapes in the Chattanooga area before confessing to Pulley's rape and murder. He expressed remorse during his trial but admitted that he would have continued his violent behavior if not arrested.