Tennessee is preparing to execute Tony Carruthers by lethal injection on Thursday, following court denials of requests to test DNA and fingerprint evidence and rulings that he is mentally competent. His attorneys have also questioned whether the state's lethal injection drugs have expired.
Conviction and Trial Controversies
Carruthers, 57, was sentenced to death for the 1994 kidnappings and murders of Marcellos Anderson; his mother, Delois Anderson; and Frederick Tucker. He was forced to represent himself at trial after repeatedly complaining about court-appointed attorneys and threatening to harm several of them. No physical evidence tied Carruthers to the killings; his conviction relied primarily on testimony from individuals who claimed he confessed to or discussed the crimes. One such witness was later revealed to be a police informant who told media he was paid for his testimony. A co-defendant, James Montgomery, originally sentenced to death alongside Carruthers, was later resentenced and released from prison in 2015.
Mental Competency and Clemency Plea
Carruthers' attorneys argue that his “paranoia and delusions” prevented him from cooperating with counsel, but the judge viewed his behavior as willful. The Tennessee Supreme Court noted that his actions before the jury were offensive and self-destructive, but that the situation was of his own making. If the execution proceeds, Carruthers will be the first person executed after being forced to represent himself in over a century, according to a clemency petition to Governor Bill Lee. The petition also claims that a medical examiner's false testimony—that victims were buried alive—influenced the death sentence; that claim was later withdrawn and refuted by experts.
Incompetence Claims and Execution Trends
Attorneys have attempted to prove Carruthers incompetent for execution, citing his belief that the government is bluffing to coerce a plea deal and that he is owed millions of dollars. He refuses to speak with his own attorneys, believing they are part of a conspiracy. Nationally, U.S. executions rose from 25 in 2024 to 47 in 2025, driven largely by Florida, which executed 19 people. So far in 2026, 13 people have been executed across four states, with 11 more scheduled. Last year, multiple executions occurred in short timeframes, including four over three days in March and five over a week in October.
Tennessee's Execution Pause and Drug Testing Issues
Tennessee resumed executions last year after a three-year pause due to improper testing of lethal injection drugs for purity and potency. An independent review found that none of the drugs used for seven inmates executed since 2018 had been fully tested. The state attorney general's office conceded that two officials responsible for overseeing the drugs “incorrectly testified” under oath about testing compliance.
