What Actually Happened

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the state of Tennessee tried to execute 57-year-old Tony Carruthers for the 1994 kidnappings and murders of Marcellos Anderson, his mother Delois Anderson, and Frederick Tucker.

They couldn't do it.

Not because a court stopped them. Because nobody could find a vein.

According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections, medical staff established a primary IV line but failed to find a suitable backup — which is required under the state's own execution protocol. They then attempted to insert a central line. That also failed. After more than an hour, they called it off.

"They Tortured Him"

CBS News obtained a text message from Carruthers' attorney Maria DeLiberato that said: "They tortured him. When they tried to do the central line, they put a shot of lidocaine in his chest and he told them he could still feel the puncture and they did the puncture anyway."

DeLiberato told reporters she watched Carruthers "wincing and groaning" throughout the process. She described staff attempting to access veins in his arms, his feet, and his neck.

The state's version: staff "quickly established" a primary line and "continued to follow the protocol." That's technically accurate and also completely sidesteps what the attorney described happening to the man on the table.

Gov. Lee Issues a One-Year Reprieve

Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, had earlier in the day upheld Carruthers' death sentence after reviewing his clemency request. Hours later, after the execution collapsed, Lee issued a one-year reprieve.

The state's position is essentially: we want to execute this man, we just couldn't do it today.

The reprieve doesn't mean Carruthers is safe. It means Tennessee has 12 months to figure out how to actually complete the execution.

A Recurring Problem

This is not an isolated incident.

According to AP News, in 2024, Idaho medical staff tried eight times to find a vein to execute Thomas Creech before giving up. Idaho Gov. Brad Little subsequently signed a law making the firing squad the state's primary execution method.

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey paused executions for months after the 2022 botched lethal injection of Kenneth Eugene Smith. That was the third time since 2018 Alabama failed to complete an execution due to IV line problems, according to NBC DFW.

This is a systemic failure in how states carry out lethal injection.

The Conviction Itself Has Real Problems

Carruthers' conviction rests on shaky ground.

According to NBC DFW and AP News, there was no physical evidence tying Carruthers to the three killings. He was convicted primarily on witness testimony — including from a man later revealed to be a paid police informant who told media he received payment for his testimony.

Carruthers represented himself at trial after a documented history of threatening his court-appointed attorneys — behavior his attorneys later attributed to mental illness, according to the New York Times. The ACLU argued in a recent clemency petition that he was "plainly neither competent to stand trial nor competent to defend himself."

His co-defendant, James Montgomery, was originally sentenced to death alongside Carruthers. Montgomery was later resentenced and released from prison, according to NBC DFW.

Carruthers' defense team has spent years seeking access to DNA evidence they believe could exonerate him. The state moved forward with the execution while blocking those forensic analyses.

What the Coverage Is Missing

Left-leaning outlets are emphasizing the anti-death-penalty narrative. Laura Porter, executive director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty, told the New York Times: "Tennessee has effectively made the case against the death penalty."

What's receiving less attention: the specific, unresolved questions about whether Carruthers actually committed these murders.

The issue isn't just the method of execution. It's that a man with no physical evidence against him, convicted on paid informant testimony, representing himself while mentally ill, may be executed by a state that simultaneously blocked his access to DNA testing.

Both conservatives concerned about wrongful convictions and those who believe in due process should be asking why Tennessee won't let the DNA testing happen.

What Happens Now

Carruthers has one year. His legal team will push for DNA testing access. The state will push back.

Tennessee also has to decide how it plans to carry out future executions — the same logistical problem Idaho and Alabama already faced.

For Carruthers, the clock is running. For the three people he was convicted of killing — Marcellos Anderson, Delois Anderson, and Frederick Tucker — justice has been deferred for 30 years.

If he's guilty, the state needs to be competent enough to prove it and carry out the sentence. If the DNA evidence points elsewhere, then the state just spent an hour torturing the wrong man.

Neither outcome is acceptable the way this has been handled.