Failed execution in Tennessee raises questions about the death penalty

Dr. Robert Quinn did not personally know Tony Carruthers, the Tennessee inmate whose execution was called off in May after an attempt, but he’s been to Tennessee’s Death Row.Quinn is one of dozens of medical professionals signing a letter asking Gov. Bill Lee to halt executions until the Tennessee Department of Corrections can reform the process.
He began visiting Death Row as part of a ministry with his church and knew people who were very close to Carruthers.
“The fascinating thing is that Death Row is the safest unit in the prison system,” Quinn said. “The average stay, at least in Tennessee, is 20 to 30 years, so it becomes a really tight family. So when somebody’s killed or executed, it’s like you’re losing your brother.”
Tennessee’s next execution is scheduled for Aug. 13, when Anthony Darrell Hines is set to die for the 1985 murder of Catherine Jenkins, a motel maid in Kingston.
Jenkins’ daughter spoke to Nashville’s WKRN about the effect of Hines continuing appeals 40 years after her mother’s murder.
“The criminal gets all of the focus because they are the ones still alive walking around,” Melissa Jenkins told the television station. “Everybody forgets about the victim and the victims’ families.”
Quinn said the person he is assigned in ministry said there is not enough attention paid to the victim’s families.
“So the paradigm, the formula is, you kill my son, I get you killed, I’ll be fine,” Quinn said. “But buried beneath there is a mountain of pain, a mountain of hurt, a mountain of grief that needs to be processed.”
Hines’ attorneys cite Carruthers’ failed execution in their petition for clemency for their client.
“After you wisely paused executions after the botched attempted execution of Oscar Smith, TDOC assured us that corrective action and a new protocol would ensure the competent execution of prisoners. That has not proved true,” Hines’ attorneys said in their clemency letter to Lee.
TDOC is the acronym for Tennessee Department of Corrections.
Smith was scheduled to be executed in April 2022. Lee paused all executions to review the state’s lethal injection protocols. Smith, convicted of murder for killing his estranged wife and her two children, was executed in May 2025.
A survey released this week by the Manhattan Institute, a New York-based public policy research organization focused on urban policy and economic issues, shows that 58% support the death penalty for what are deemed egregious crimes.
Regardless of how doctors feel about the death penalty, the American Medical Association’s policy cautions physicians from participating in executions. Physicians are unlikely to lose their licenses if they do, according to Quinn.
“An individual’s opinion on capital punishment is the personal moral decision of the individual,” the statement says. “However, as a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is hope of doing so, a physician must not participate in a legally authorized execution.”
The doctor involved in Tony Carruthers’ attempted execution in May is facing a medical malpractice complaint filed by Carruthers’ sister. A primary IV line was already inserted into Carruthers, but medical personnel could not find a required second line for a backup, according to a statement from the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
The American Medical Association’s statement can make it difficult to find a “good team” to assist in an execution, according to Quinn.
“The other thing that happens is that as a physician, you dedicate your professional life to preservation and protection and improving,” Quinn said. “And then to be asked to step across the line is a tough, moral hurdle to clear.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting comment from Lee. He gave Carruthers a one-year reprieve after Carruthers’ failed execution.
“If I could, I would ask Governor Lee to come and spend a Monday night with us in that room,” Quinn said. “I would invite him to see the humanity.”

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