Tennessee planned to execute Tony Carruthers at 10 a.m. CT, but his attorney said executioners removed the intravenous lines used to deliver pentobarbital. Attorneys had also sought an emergency stay from the Tennessee Supreme Court, as the case faces renewed
A woman in Tennessee was scheduled to be executed for the first time in over 200 years this week — but the night’s biggest shake-up came instead with a man on death row, as execution preparations ran into trouble and stopped.
Tony Carruthers was set to be executed at 10 a.m. CT, according to his defense team. Nearly two hours later, his attorney, Amy Harwell, said executioners had removed the intravenous lines from her client, a change that halted the attempt to deliver the drug pentobarbital.
Harwell told the Commercial Appeal. part of the USA TODAY Network. in a text message from a state prison on Thursday. May 21. that Carruthers was in pain as the executioners tried to find a vein and there was a lot of blood. Nearly two hours after the scheduled start. she said the IV line — the route intended to deliver a fatal dose — was no longer in place.
Carruthers’ attorneys filed an emergency motion for a stay of execution with the Tennessee Supreme Court at about 11:40 a.m. according to the account provided to the newspaper. The Tennessee Department of Correction. which carries out executions. and the governor’s office were contacted to determine whether officials would try to proceed with the execution.
The delay comes as Tennessee remains on edge over a case that has drawn national attention.
In 1994. Tony Carruthers and James Montgomery carried out three murders as part of what prosecutors described as a plan to take over the drug trade in their Memphis neighborhood and prove they were “ruthless.” According to prosecutors and court records. they targeted a 21-year-old drug dealer named Marcellos Anderson. his innocent mother. and a 17-year-old friend.
Prosecutors said the victims were taken to an empty grave that had already been dug for an upcoming funeral at a local cemetery. There, court records say, Carruthers and Montgomery shot the young men, rolled all three bodies into the grave, and covered them with plywood and dirt.
Court records describe Delois Anderson, a 43-year-old housewife and Marcellos Anderson’s mother, as being buried alive and dying of suffocation. The funeral proceeded as scheduled, and court records say a person was buried on top of the hidden bodies.
The case might have gone undetected. prosecutors said. until Montgomery’s brother informed police about what happened and led them to the gravesite. The killings became infamous in Memphis and have gained wider attention in recent weeks as Carruthers continues fighting to have testing done on forensic evidence and fingerprints that his attorneys argue could exonerate him.
Kim Kardashian recently urged Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to hold off on the execution for the testing. The American Civil Liberties Union has also joined Carruthers’ attorneys in opposing the execution.
Lucas Cameron Vaughn. interim legal director for the ACLU of Tennessee. said earlier this month that there is “no physical evidence that matches Tony.” He also said investigators recovered fingerprints from the home where the victims were kidnapped and that none matched Carruthers. adding that the fingerprints remain unidentified.
Lee, for his part, said in a statement on May 19 that after “deliberate consideration” and “a thorough review of the case,” he would not stop the execution. “I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene,” he said.
The sequence of events in Thursday’s execution attempt — pain during vein access, blood during the IV search, and later removal of the intravenous lines intended for pentobarbital — collided with an ongoing legal fight over evidence tied to Carruthers’ identity.
Tennessee has said Carruthers’ execution would be the first of the year. even as the state has faced renewed attention for its execution schedule. including a separate plan involving Christa Pike that would have made her the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years and the 19th woman in modern U.S. history.
Tony Carruthers Tennessee execution pentobarbital Amy Harwell Tennessee Supreme Court stay ACLU of Tennessee Bill Lee death penalty forensic evidence IV line removed
So they took out the IV lines because they can’t find a vein? That seems… kinda wild.
I don’t get how they can have a whole execution planned and then the IV doesn’t work. Wouldn’t they test this stuff ahead of time? Sounds like cruelty either way, honestly.
Wait are they saying he was basically in pain for like 2 hours while they messed with his arm? And the drug is pentobarbital so if the IV line is gone then he doesn’t get it?? Seems like they’re doing it wrong, but also death penalty people will say it’s fine. Idk.
This is what happens when states rush stuff. Like why would they just remove the IV lines?? I saw something on TikTok about them trying to do it faster than normal. And now they’re “paused” and everyone acts shocked. Also how is it that Tennessee is doing executions after all this time, and then it turns into a medical mess.