Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has granted a temporary one-year reprieve for death row inmate Tony Carruthers following the state’s failed attempt to carry out his lethal injection on Thursday.

The reprieve, which extends until May 21, 2027, does not alter Carruthers’ existing death sentence but prevents Tennessee from attempting another execution during this period. The decision follows officials’ inability to establish the required intravenous access for the procedure after more than an hour of efforts.

Carruthers, 57, was scheduled to die at Tennessee’s Riverbend Maximum Security Institution on May 21, 2026. According to state records and reports, execution personnel attempted to create a primary IV line but were unable to locate a suitable backup vein as required by the state’s protocol. They subsequently tried inserting a central line, which also failed. Carruthers’ attorney Maria DeLiberato stated that the search for usable IV access involved his hands, arms, bicep, and eventually the femoral area.

Carruthers was convicted in 1994 for the kidnappings and murders of Marcellos Anderson, Delois Anderson, and Frederick Tucker. His defense team has long argued that critical forensic evidence, including DNA and fingerprint analysis, remains untested and could exonerate him. They have also raised concerns about the reliability of jailhouse informant testimony, questions regarding Carruthers’ mental competency at trial, and his representation of himself during proceedings.

The state’s Department of Correction confirmed the execution was halted due to the medical protocol failure. Tennessee officials now face a year-long delay before they can attempt another execution, pending resolution of the procedural issues that led to the interruption.