Overview
- The scheduled execution of 57‑year‑old Tony Carruthers was stopped after the prison reported that staff placed one IV but could not locate the legally required second intravenous access following repeated attempts on Thursday.
- Officials said an attempted central line also failed and the procedure was aborted, and Governor Bill Lee granted Carruthers a one‑year reprieve hours after the botched attempt.
- Carruthers, who has been on death row for more than 30 years and maintains his innocence, faces ongoing appeals that include claims about untested DNA and fingerprint evidence.
- Defense lawyers and advocates said the repeated needle attempts — reported in arms, feet and the neck — amounted to torture and called for transparency about who performed the procedures and how staff were trained.
- The incident follows a prior three‑year pause in Tennessee executions over unvalidated drugs and comes as U.S. execution rates have risen in 2026, increasing scrutiny of how states obtain drugs and carry out lethal injections.