(NASHVILLE)  Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has issued a temporary waving of an execution.

Governor Lee said, “I am granting Harold Wayne Nichols a temporary reprieve from execution until December 31, 2020, due to the challenges and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The 59-year old death row inmate had already chosen the electric chair as his choice of dying. 

Nichols was convicted of rape and first-degree murder of Karen Pulley in Hamilton County (Chattanooga), back in 1988. 

Again, the governor's reprieve is only until December 31, 2020, due to COVID-19 issues.