(The Center Square) – Faith leaders and some Republicans are calling on Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to review execution protocols after attempts to put a man to death in May failed.
It’s been two months since the failed execution of convicted murderer Tony Carruthers and less than a month away from the planned execution of Darrell Hines on Aug. 13.
Faith leaders held a news conference at Second Presbyterian Church in Nashville on Thursday afternoon, asking Lee to stop Hines’ execution. Hines was convicted on murder charges in connection with the death of a Kingston Springs hotel maid in 1985.
Rev. Kevin Riggs of Franklin Community Church said, like Lee, he considers himself an evangelical Christian.
“While there are differing opinions about capital punishment among evangelicals, all evangelicals oppose the torture of another human being,” Riggs said. “All evangelicals believe Jesus when he said, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."”
A primary IV line was already inserted into Carruthers, but medical personnel could not find a required second line for a backup, according to a statement from the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
“The team continued to follow the protocol, but could not find another suitable vein,” the Department of Corrections said. “The team attempted to insert a central line pursuant to the protocol, but the procedure was unsuccessful. The execution was then called off.”
Dr. Tonya Hervey, Carruthers’ sister, filed a formal medical malpractice complaint with the Tennessee Department of Health against the doctor involved in the execution, according to the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty, a coalition of more than 60 organizations that want to end capital punishment.
“We believe our brother suffered a brain stroke, has endured extreme pain and has paralysis of the entire right side of his body,” Hervey said in the complaint. “He can no longer utilize his right hand and is dragging the entire right leg to move.”
Lee gave Carruthers a one-year reprieve from execution after May’s attempt. Carruthers was convicted in 1996 for the murders of Marcellos Anderson, his mother, Delois Anderson and Frederick Tucker, whose bodies were found in a Memphis cemetery. A codefendant, James Montgomery, was also sentenced to death, but his case was reversed, according to court documents. A third codefendant died by suicide while in jail.
Nine Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, sent a letter to Lee in June asking him for an independent review of Carruthers’ attempted execution before another takes place.
“Because we support the lawful administration of the death penalty, we cannot accept its incompetent administration,” the senators said in the letter. “We raise these concerns not in opposition to the death penalty but in defense of it-out of respect for the rule of law, the verdicts of Tennessee juries, and the families still awaiting justice.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting comment from Lee. The governor told WSMV on July 7 that the protocols were “carried out appropriately.”
“The protocol itself still stands as it should,” Lee told the television station. “It should not affect executions in the future.”
