Tennessee stops execution after failing to find vein for lethal drugs

Tennessee halted the execution of death row inmate Tony Carruthers on Thursday, his attorney said, after the officers tasked with establishing an intravenous line through which to administer lethal drugs failed to do so for more than an hour.

“They tortured him,” said the attorney Maria DeLiberato, in a text message that CBS News obtained through the American Civil Liberties Union. “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.”

In the text, DeLiberato said Carruthers was groaning and bleeding from his attempted injection sites. She said officers tried three times to establish the line in the inmate’s arms and feet, and also attempted to access a vein in his neck.

Carruthers’ defense team had asked the state to stop his execution in an emergency order, which alleged that the repeated attempts “constituted cruel and unusual punishment” and violated his constitutional rights.

While Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a reprieve, pausing the execution proceedings, whether it would be temporary or permanent was unclear, according to an ACLU spokesperson.

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.  

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.