What This Story Is About
- Defense attorneys are pushing for Gov. Bill Lee to pause all executions following the failed lethal injection of Tony Carruthers.
Why It Matters
- Carruthers, convicted of killing three people in 1994, was set to be put to death last week before complications with the injection occurred.
- The next state execution is scheduled for later this summer with no confirmation on whether the state will re-evaluate its protocol for lethal injection before then.
For Context
- Tennessee’s 2025 Lethal Injection Protocol requires that if the IV team is unable to establish peripheral IV access, the physician contracted by the state is required to establish a central IV line. The protocol does not provide for the state to re-attempt to establish peripheral IV access after an attempt to establish a central IV line has failed.
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) – Attorneys with ACLU Tennessee are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to extend the execution reprieve for Tony Carruthers to all executions in the state after the botched lethal injection in May.
Attorneys call for a pause as litigation is underway, challenging the state’s current lethal injection protocol.
The ACLU says that the state’s latest adopted lethal injection protocol (2025) has “significant omissions.”…