Death row inmate's execution called off after botched attempt to take his life
Once someone gets sent to death row, it's rare that life will give them a second chance.
However, that's exactly what happened with triple-murderer Tony Carruthers yesterday (Thursday 21 May) when his lethal injection went wrong.
When it comes to the death sentence, it's usually the morality of the action that gets questioned rather than the effectiveness, although one man did suffer a 'botched execution' when he chose to die at the hands of a firing squad last year.
In Carruthers' case, after he'd already eaten his infamous last meal and said his goodbyes, it was the struggles of the medical team that ended up saving his life for another year at least.
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The Tennessee death row inmate has been behind bars since 1996 after the kidnapping and murders of Marcellos Anderson, his mother Delois Anderson, and Frederick Tucker.
On Thursday, he was due to die but while the medical team were able to source a primary IV line, they could not find suitable second vein to establish a backup line, which is required under lethal injection execution protocol.
After finding the primary injection line, "the team continued to follow the protocol, but could not find another suitable vein", the corrections department said in a statement.
"The team attempted to insert a central line pursuant to the protocol, but the procedure was unsuccessful," the statement continued. "The execution was then called off."
And thus Carruthers, who has always maintained his innocence, will live for another year at least after his execution was officially postponed.
"His trial was riddled with errors. He was denied legal counsel. There was no physical evidence linked to him," the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a press release demanding the 'wrongful execution' of Carruthers be called off.
"The evidence against him that was presented at trial came from informants who have since recanted their statements or been discredited," the ACLU continued.
His case has gained national interest, with over 130,000 signatures calling for the execution to be halted to allow for 'necessary fingerprint and DNA testing', with even Kim Kardashian getting involved.
The celebrity socialite urged her followers to call the governor's office and demand DNA evidence 'before it's too late', and no doubt those claims will be brought into sharp focus as the 57-year-old is forced to wait another year for another potential date with death.
In a petition for clemency filed on Wednesday, his attorney's argued that his current mental state, which has been brought on by Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type, and brain damage, is too impaired for him to be executed.
"These disorders manifest in current symptoms of unending, synergistic, and complex delusions that thwart a rational understanding of his imminent execution," his lawyers argued.
After his execution was delayed, Maria DeLiberato, senior counsel at the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project, said that the non-profit organisation will continue fighting on Carruthers' behalf, more than 30 years on from the crimes that initially saw him sentenced.
"Tennessee cannot continue torturing a man while refusing to answer serious questions about his innocence," DeLiberato said.
James Moorhouse