Tennessee governor gives reprieve to inmate after botched execution

By: J. Holly McCall

Outlets: Tennessee Lookout

Published: May 21, 2026

Words: 419

Last Updated: 2 months ago

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Gov. Bill Lee issued a one-year reprieve Thursday for Tennessee death row inmate Tony Carruthers after a failed execution attempt.

According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, medical personnel tapped a primary vein to deliver the drugs for lethal injection but were unsuccessful in finding a backup vein as dictated by execution protocol.

Maria DiLiberato of the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project, one of the lawyers representing Carruthers, attended the attempted execution and said Carruthers …

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