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What comes next after ‘tortured, botched execution’ attempt of Memphis man The governor granted a one-year reprieve to Tony Carruthers after over an hour of failed attempts to execute him.NASHVILLE, Tenn.(WSMV) - A Tennessee execution was called off Thursday morning after medical personnel were unable to establish a required backup IV line during more than an hour of attempts, leading to a one-year reprieve from Gov.Lee for Tony Carruthers.Carruthers’ attorney, Maria DeLiberato, senior counsel with the ACLU Capital Punishment Project, was inside the execution chamber and documented the procedure from 10:22 a.m.to 11:40 a.m.“This was a tortured, botched execution,” DeLiberato said.Timeline of attempts The following timeline was given to WSMV by Carruthers’ attorney, who was inside the execution chamber: Medical personnel began trying to establish venous access around 10:24 a.m.At 10:31 a.m., they were still trying to get a vein in Carruthers’ right arm after three or four attempts.The person attempting the IV said the veins were rolling.They eventually got the first line in the right arm at approximately 10:41 a.m.Medical personnel then attempted to establish a backup line in the left arm, trying six to seven times.At 10:43 a.m., the person placing the IV line was shaking his head and said it was not infiltrating and not flowing.At 10:48 a.m., they attempted to get an IV into Carruthers’ left hand.DeLiberato said the person was grunting and trying to push the needle.Carruthers was wincing.They got the needle in his hand, but the person shook his head and said it was not flowing.As of 10:49 a.m., there was still only one IV access in the right arm.At 10:54 a.m., a doctor came in.Medical personnel removed Carruthers’ socks and tried to find a vein in his feet using a vein finder.They turned the lights down and went over both feet but could not find a suitable vein.At 10:57 a.m., they tried to stick him in his foot.They said they got a flash, but it would not run.At approximately 11:09 a.m., the doctor asked if anybody on the team had expertise in jugular access.Someone on the team said yes.They moved Carruthers, took his shirt down and made him turn his head to the side.They turned the lights down to use the vein finder.The person on the team said he could not get jugular access.At 11:12 a.m., they announced they were going to do a central line in the upper chest area.The doctor put on a gown and draped Carruthers.At 11:13 a.m., the doctor asked if Carruthers had a known allergy to lidocaine.Carruthers did not know.The doctor gave him a needle in the upper chest area for lidocaine and said it would take five minutes and feel like a bee sting.Carruthers said it hurt.DeLiberato said she objected to the doctor doing a central line because previous litigation showed the doctor gave a sworn deposition that he was not qualified to do a central line.The warden told the doctor to do his job.The doctor snapped back and said he was qualified.At 11:20 a.m., after five minutes had elapsed, they started poking Carruthers with the instrument and asked if it hurt.Carruthers said it hurt and he could feel it.The doctor asked him on a scale of one to ten how much it hurt.Carruthers said it hurt.The doctor started pushing the needle in and Carruthers was groaning.DeLiberato said Carruthers was in a lot of pain.The doctor kept trying to stick the line and there was blood coming out.DeLiberato saw two to three puncture wounds.“The doctor’s hands are shaking as he’s continuing to try to stick to Tony,” DeLiberato said.“There was a lot of blood.” At 11:22 a.m., the doctor said he was not able to set a central line.DeLiberato said Carruthers was in agony and his chest hurt.At 11:27 a.m., medical personnel tried for a second vein in Carruthers’ right shoulder.At 11:30 a.m., they claimed it was set and said there was flow times two.At 11:40 a.m., the warden got a phone call in the execution chamber.He said they were not doing it and were taking Carruthers off the gurney and taking the IVs out.DeLiberato said Carruthers was in a lot of pain when they took the IVs out.The IV line in his shoulder was filled with blood that had back-filled toward his chest area.Carruthers said his chest hurt from the attempts to get the central line access.The Department of Corrections said medical personnel were able to get a primary line but were unable to find a backup line, which is required by state protocol.Calls for transparency DeLiberato said the state needs to provide transparency in its execution procedures.“If the state of Tennessee is going to execute its own, there has to be full and complete transparency,” DeLiberato said.“And there was no transparency here.And this botched execution showed why there must be.” DeLiberato said media has repeatedly asked to have access to the execution process and there is an ongoing lawsuit.“You all should have been in that room with me, so that you don’t have to say, well, I said this, and I promise you the Attorney General is going to have some different view,” DeLiberato said.DeLiberato said this is not the first documented case of pain during a Tennessee execution.Byron Black said he experienced pain throughout his execution process.Previous: TN governor puts off Tony Carruthers’ execution for 1 year after failed lethal injection DNA testing and innocence claims Carruthers was convicted on a death sentence based on witness statements with no physical evidence.DeLiberato said they will use the one-year reprieve to continue fighting for DNA and fingerprint testing.“I am so grateful that we are going to have a chance to prove what we’ve been saying and what Tony has been saying for 30 years that he didn’t commit this crime,” DeLiberato said.DeLiberato came on Carruthers’ case in late March and has been representing him for the past two and a half months.She said Carruthers has a deep faith in God and believes the botched attempt happened for a reason.“Tony is a strong, stoic man,” DeLiberato said.“And he faced this brutal process.Let’s not forget, this is a man who is innocent, who has asked for DNA testing, who has been denied DNA testing repeatedly.” The next state execution is scheduled for later this summer.There is no word on whether the state will re-evaluate its protocol for lethal injection before then.Copyright 2026 WSMV.All rights reserved.Join The Conversation We want to hear what you think.Create a free account to share your thoughts.Read our community guidelines here.