Tennessee faith leaders urged Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to halt scheduled executions at a Nashville news conference Thursday and condemned his stated intention to continue them even after the botched execution of a prisoner in May.
The clergy members were gathered by Tennesseans for Alternatives for the Death Penalty ahead of the scheduled execution of Darrel Hines on August 13th. They asked Lee for a reprieve so courts could review the lethal injection protocol. They wanted failures to be identified and addressed before any other prisoners are executed in Tennessee.
“This is not just about one man on Tennessee’s death row,” Rev. Timothy Holton, a United Methodist pastor and chaplain to Tennessee’s death row said Thursday. “This is about correction officers and personnel who are asked to carry out these executions. It’s about the victim’s families who were forced to endure uncertainty and additional trauma.
“It’s about every Tennessean who expects our government to respond with honesty and accountability when something goes terribly wrong as this did.”
Hines’ attorneys again asked Lee for a reprieve earlier this month until the lethal injection protocol, particularly regarding the selection of the execution team, is ruled constitutional.
The attorneys’ first request came on June 22nd, after the botched execution of Tony Carruthers. Carruthers’ execution began at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on May 21st. However, it ended before the state could kill him.
After multiple failed attempts were made to establish a backup intravenous line, as required by the current protocol in his arms, his execution was halted and he was granted a one-year reprieve.
Hines’ attorneys said that, because of the physical impairments that he suffered as a result of multiple strokes in December and January, the prospect of a failed execution will be “horrifying” and promises to be a “gruesome spectacle.”
Lee told members of the media on July 7th that because Carruthers’ botched execution was caused by an inability to find a suitable vein for an IV line rather than a problem with the protocol itself, all executions would carry on as scheduled.
Concerns about Tennessee Department of Correction’s (TDOC) lethal injection protocol were echoed by those who support the death penalty. On June 25th, nine Republican state Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), sent a letter to Lee asking for executions to be halted until TDOC commissions an independent review.
The Senators wanted a review to find deficiencies in the credentials and qualifications in the execution team, those deficiencies corrected, and testing results to be released to the public.
In their letter, the Senators expressed concern about TDOC’s lack of transparency and accountability regarding the botched execution. Adding to this concern, they stated, was the 2022 independent review that found TDOC failed to follow their requirements for testing lethal injection chemicals, which halted executions for years.
State Rep. Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) requested information on July 2nd from TDOC Commissioner Frank Strada about actions taken after the botched execution.
“When the state of Tennessee exercises its solemn responsibility to carry out an execution, Tennesseans expect that the process will be carried out humanely, competently, professionally, and in accordance with established procedures,” Barrett said. “The failed execution of Tony Carruthers left many Tennesseans wondering whether the Tennessee Department of Correction is capable of fulfilling that responsibility.”
In addition to condemning the lack of transparency from TDOC, Barrett said the state government has an obligation to explain the error and corrections made and to reassure the public that the error won’t be repeated. Barrett requested TDOC provide a public written response by July 20th regarding what went wrong and how it will be prevented in the future.
Specifically, Barrett asked whether a formal review had been completed and what changes had been made to procedures, personnel, training, equipment, or oversight as a result of the review. Barrett also asked what qualifications will be held by the team establishing IV access, what safeguards will be put into place to prevent another botched execution, and whether TDOC will release a public summary of corrective actions before Darrell Hines’ execution on August 13th.
