‘Botched’ lethal injection earns Tennessee death row inmate reprieve

Published May 21, 2026 5:13pm ET



Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) delayed the execution of Tony Carruthers by one year after the inmate experienced a “botched” execution on Thursday.

Executioners failed to find a vein to insert the mandatory backup IV line per Tennessee‘s lethal injection protocol. Carruthers had been convicted of a triple murder in Memphis in 1994, though advocates had pushed for clemency in the weeks leading up to his execution date.

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