NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The planned execution of Tony Carruthers in Tennessee was called off Thursday after officials struggled to find a vein for more than an hour, a lawyer present said.

Maria DeLiberato, an attorney for Carruthers, said she saw him “wincing and groaning” while officials attempted to find a vein, calling it “horrible” to watch.

In a written statement, the Tennessee Department of Corrections said medical personnel had quickly established a primary IV line but were unable to find a suitable vein for a backup line as required by the state’s execution protocol. Efforts to insert a central line also failed, and officials called off the execution.

Carruthers' lawyers asked a federal court and the Tennessee Supreme Court on Thursday to put his execution on hold, saying continuous attempts to access a vein constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.”

States have repeatedly had to call off executions because of such challenges. In Idaho in 2024, medical team members tried eight times to establish an IV line to execute Thomas Creech, one of the nation’s longest-serving death row inmates, before calling it off; Idaho Gov. Brad Little subsequently signed a law making firing squad the state’s primary method of execution.

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey paused executions for several months after officials called off the lethal injection of Kenneth Eugene Smith in 2022 — the third time since 2018 Alabama had been unable to conduct executions due to problems with IV lines.

Carruthers convicted of killing 3 in Memphis

Carruthers, 57, was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the 1994 kidnappings and murders of Marcellos Anderson; his mother, Delois Anderson; and Frederick Tucker. He was forced to represent himself at trial after repeatedly complaining about court-appointed attorneys and threatening to harm several of them.

There was no physical evidence tying Carruthers to the killings, and he was convicted primarily on the basis of testimony from people who claimed to have heard him confess to or discuss the crimes.

They include a man who was later revealed to be a police informant and told media he was paid for his testimony. A co-defendant, James Montgomery, was originally sentenced to death along with Carruthers but was later resentenced and released from prison in 2015, according to court filings.

Source: WPLG