Tony Carruthers’ Federal Defenders and his ACLU attorney held a press conference yesterday, urging Governor Lee to pause all executions until litigation on Tennessee’s 2025 lethal injection protocol concludes.

TAKE ACTION: Thank Governor Lee for granting a reprieve to Tony Carruthers and ask the governor to pause all executions until litigation on Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol concludes.

You can watch the press conference here.

Recap of the Press Conference:

First Assistant Federal Public Defender Amy Harwell told reporters that though her team is grateful for Mr. Carruthers’ reprieve, this won’t solve the problems with Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol.

“There is more that needs to be done,” Harwell said. “What happened to Mr. Carruthers on Thursday was not just foreseeable–it was, in fact, foreseen.”

She referenced the Burns v. Strada lawsuit, filed over a year ago, which clearly outlines the problems with the Tennessee Department of Correction’s (TDOC) 2025 protocol. Because the TDOC chose to ignore the warnings in the lawsuit, Mr. Carruthers suffered as a result.

Federal Defender Kit Thomas reminded the media that the 2025 lethal injection protocol was adopted after Governor Lee requested an independent investigation into problems with the former protocol. Because of those problems, Governor Lee stopped Oscar Smith’s 2022 execution only an hour before it was to occur.

When requesting this investigation in 2022, Governor Lee said that he expected the TDOC to leave no question that procedures are correctly followed. But the investigation’s report revealed pervasive noncompliance by the TDOC with its own lethal injection procedures. Governor Lee hired Frank Strada, the former Deputy Director for the Arizona Department of Corrections, to serve as the new TDOC Commissioner. Mr. Strada oversaw the adoption of a new protocol, even though Arizona had a long history of troublesome administration of its own lethal injection protocol, including violations of its execution protocol, during Mr. Strada’s tenure.

Upon the release of the newly-adopted 2025 Tennessee protocol, federal defenders were shocked to see the primary changes to the new protocol did not address the problems identified by the investigation’s report but instead concealed those problems behind vague rules and weaker safeguards.

In fact, in the Burns complaint, attorneys highlight the failure of the new protocol to ensure that those involved in the execution are trained, qualified, and prepared to access an IV line. They also raise concerns about telephone access for capital attorneys during an execution. The TDOC continued to dismiss these concerns as speculative.

But there is nothing speculative about what happened to Tony Carruthers last Thursday.

Wrapping up the press conference, Senior Counsel for the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project Maria DeLiberato, who was with Mr. Carruthers for Thursday’s agonizing 90-minute ordeal, outlines in detail what happened in the execution chamber.

She highlights the absurdity that, as an attorney for a death row client who is being executed, she struggled to access a phone to call outside counsel when problems arose. DeLiberato was refused use of the phone in the execution chamber while the Attorney General’s representative and the warden both had cell phones in their pockets. She was told to leave the chamber, and consequently her client, to find a phone. TDOC staff then frantically looked for a phone, finding one on the floor of the death watch chamber. It was unplugged. DeLiberato had to wait until it was plugged in and the light finally came on before she could call an outside attorney to request the execution be stopped.

Thursday’s outcome is shocking but not surprising. Tennesseans must demand that such a barbaric spectacle not happen again with our tax dollars and in our name. Join us to demand better.

➡️TAKE ACTION NOW TO LET GOVERNOR LEE KNOW WE MUST PAUSE ALL EXECUTIONS.

Governor Lee has granted a one year reprieve from execution for Tony Carruthers after the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) was unable to access a vein to carry out his scheduled execution today.

TADP has been sounding the alarm for years about the serious problems with the lethal injection protocol, including the lack of transparency around the process. Just this spring, we advocated for legislation to address this lack of transparency.

Today’s horrific display illustrates our point and demands accountability from the TDOC and the State.

Though we are profoundly grateful for the reprieve, there is no excuse for what happened to Tony Carruthers and to all those who were forced to be a part of this torturous spectacle.

TADP will update you more as we have more info.

Join TADP, ACLU, NAACP Nashville Branch, Faith Leaders of Color Coalition (flocc), Witness to Innocence, Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), Free Hearts, and others to tell Governor Lee to stop Tony Carruthers’ scheduled execution and to test the DNA evidence!

We need you to turn out on Monday, May 18, to urge Governor Lee to act!

Please plan to arrive around 12:30 p.m. outside the entrance to the Cordell Hull Building on Rep. John Lewis Way (5th Avenue N). The march will begin at 12:45 p.m. with a rally following at 1:00 in front of the Capitol steps across from Speaker Beth Harwell Plaza. The petition delivery will follow.

You can still sign the petition here!

In a powerful press conference on April 30th, Witness to Innocence and the Tennessee Innocence Project asked Governor Lee to stop the May 21 execution of Tony Carruthers and to test the DNA that could prove his innocence.

Watch the press conference here.

Tennessee residents Ray Krone, Sabrina Butler-Smith, and Ndume Olatushani, all wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death for crimes that they did not commit, shared their experiences and reiterated the necessity of leaving no stone unturned in the search for the truth, particularly when a life is on the line.

Mr. Olatushani stated, “As long as we have the death penalty, innocent people are going to be executed. I have no doubt about that.”

Tennessee Innocence Project’s Jason Gichner added, “DNA doesn’t take sides. It’s science. It’s objective. Law enforcement can use DNA to solve crimes and find guilty people. But we can also use DNA to validate claims of innocence and bring innocent people home.”

Ray Krone shared that without DNA testing in his case, he would have likely been executed. He explained that the State of Arizona tried to dismiss his attorney’s request for further DNA testing as a “fishing expedition” that would serve no purpose. The court disagreed. The DNA not only proved Mr. Krone’s innocence but identified the actual killer, a man already in prison for other violent crimes.

Sabrina Butler-Smith stated, “Just give people the opportunity. Let them prove their innocence. They are fighting for their lives.”

On May 6, Memphians will gather at the National Civil Right Museum at 1:00 p.m. to continue the call to Governor Lee to stop this execution and request the DNA testing in this case. If you are in the Memphis area, please join with faith and community leaders, as well as those directly impacted, in support of this request.

TAKE ACTION NOW: Please sign and share the letter to Governor Lee and call him at (615) 741-2001. Tell him to pause Mr. Carruthers’ scheduled execution and to order the DNA testing.