Will Tennessee's secretive lethal injection protocol lead to another agonizing failure for a medically fragile inmate?

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Yes—there is a substantial, evidence-based risk that Tennessee’s protocol could produce another prolonged and painful failed execution, especially for Darrell Hines. The strongest warning is Tennessee’s own recent record. In May, officials spent about 75 minutes trying to establish IV access for Tony Carruthers, puncturing him repeatedly, attempting a central line, and stopping only after the process visibly caused pain and failed. That was not a hypothetical flaw; it was a real breakdown under the current protocol. Hines appears more medically vulnerable than Carruthers. His lawyers say he is thin, has suffered strokes, has major muscular atrophy, stiffness in one arm, and is often bedridden or in a wheelchair. Those conditions can make peripheral and central IV placement more difficult, increasing the risk of delay, repeated needle attempts, and pain before pentobarbital is ever administered. The secrecy surrounding Tennessee’s execution process deepens that risk because it limits outside scrutiny of drug sourcing, testing, expiration, training, and who will carry out the IV procedures. That lack of transparency matters given the state’s earlier drug-testing failures and the unresolved dispute over whether Dr. Mark Fowler—the physician criticized after Carruthers’ aborted execution—will be involved again. Still, whether Hines’ execution will fail cannot be predicted with certainty. The state maintains the protocol is lawful and that Carruthers’ case turned on difficult vei…

Three States Execute 3 Inmates by Lethal Injection in 1 Day, First Such U.S. Run Since 2010

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Three States Execute 3 Inmates by Lethal Injection in 1 Day, First Such U.S. Run Since 2010

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