NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Gov. Bill Lee said Tuesday he will not intervene in the scheduled execution of Tennessee death row inmate Anthony Darrell Hines.
Hines, 66, is scheduled to be executed Thursday, Aug. 13.
Hines was convicted in 1986 of first-degree felony murder in the 1985 killing of Catherine Jean Jackson Jenkins, a 54-year-old maid at the Ce’Bon Motel in Kingston Springs. He was sentenced to death.
“After deliberate consideration of Anthony Darrell Hines’ request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene,” Lee said in a statement.
Hines’ attorney Kit Thomas criticized Lee’s decision, arguing it would be a “grotesque spectacle” for the state to proceed given Hines’ medical condition and unanswered questions surrounding Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Tony Carruthers in May.
Carruthers’ May 21 execution was stopped after the state’s execution team was unable to establish the necessary IV access. Dr. Mark Fowler unsuccessfully attempted to place a central line during the process.
Thomas said Hines’ legal team believes the Tennessee Department of Correction intends to again rely on Fowler for Hines’ execution.
“All of the available evidence suggests that TDOC intends to rely on Dr. Fowler despite his disastrous mishandling of the attempted execution of Mr. Carruthers,” Thomas said. “TDOC knows that Dr. Fowler can’t do the job the protocol requires him to do.”
TDOC has not publicly confirmed whether Fowler will participate in Hines’ execution.
Hines’ attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution while it considers their challenge involving Tennessee’s execution procedures. They are asking the court to review the Tennessee Supreme Court’s denial of their request for additional scrutiny of those procedures.
The legal team argues Hines faces a heightened risk of severe pain because of his medical condition and the possibility that a central line could be needed during his execution.
Hines has suffered two strokes this year and is partially paralyzed, his attorneys say. They contend his significant muscle loss and spasticity in his left arm could make it more difficult to establish a standard IV.
Hines would be the first person executed in Tennessee since the failed attempt involving Carruthers.
Several groups have called on Lee to pause executions following the Carruthers case. Nine Republican state senators asked Lee in June to suspend executions until an independent review could be completed. Tennessee medical professionals and faith leaders have also urged the governor to pause executions.
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