Tennessee executes Darrell Hines

The state has spent millions of dollars over decades to execute a seriously ill man who was already incarcerated.

The state of Tennessee executed death row inmate Darrell Hines Thursday morning, according to an advocacy group.

No formal announcement of the execution has been issued by state leaders yet. The execution was slated for 10 a.m. Thursday at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

[DPN update] Hines was pronounced dead at 10:43 a.m. CDT. His last meal was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, corn, fries, biscuits, a chicken sandwich, chocolate chip cake, and sweet tea.

His final words were “Tell my son hello” (or a similar phrasing such as “Tell my son I love him”), with his son present.

No major complications were reported in the procedure itself, despite prior concerns over his health (including recent strokes) and the state’s previous botched attempt on another inmate.

Hines, 66, was sentenced to death for the 1985 killing of Catherine Jean Jenkins, a 54-year-old motel maid in Kingston Springs, Tennessee.

“We at TADP will continue to pray for the family of Catherine Jean Jenkins that they may find some measure of peace and for the family of Darrell Hines, as well as his legal team and spiritual advisor, during this difficult time,” said Stacy Rector, executive director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (TADP). “We are also grateful for the thousands of people who took action to stop this execution.”

Jenkins was working at the CeBon Motel when she was killed in March 1985. She was found in a motel room wrapped in a sheet and had suffered multiple stab wounds. Hines was convicted of killing Jenkins and sentenced to death in 1986. He later won a new sentencing hearing but was again sentenced to death in 1989. Hines maintained his innocence.

Hines’ execution came less than three months after Tennessee’s previous attempt to execute a death-row prisoner ended without the lethal drugs being administered.

On May 21, the state attempted to execute Memphis death-row inmate Tony Carruthers. The execution team established a primary intravenous line but spent more than an hour attempting to establish the required backup access. Team members attempted IV access in Carruthers’ arm, hand, and foot before Dr. Mark Fowler attempted to place a central line. Fowler could not find an appropriate line after several minutes. Gov. Bill Lee ultimately called off the execution and granted Carruthers a one-year reprieve.

Carruthers’ sister, Dr. Tonya Hervey, later filed a complaint against Fowler with the Tennessee Department of Health, alleging medical malpractice and violations of medical ethics during the attempted execution.

Hervey’s complaint alleged that Carruthers experienced “excruciating pain” during the procedure and that his family believes he suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.

The complaint also accused Fowler of continuing attempts to find vein access despite Carruthers’ visible distress and questioned whether Fowler was qualified to place a central line because he had not performed the procedure in more than a decade. Fowler did not comment publicly on the allegations.

The failed Carruthers execution became a central issue in Hines’ final legal challenges.

Hines’ attorneys sought information about whether the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) planned to use Fowler in Hines’ execution. A Davidson County court ruled in July that the state had to disclose whether it intended to use the same physician, but further action was delayed while the issue moved to a higher court. It was not immediately clear if Fowler was involved in Hines’ execution Thursday.

Hines’ attorneys then asked the Tennessee Supreme Court for a conditional stay if TDOC refused to replace Fowler. They argued that the state’s execution protocol could expose Hines to severe suffering if medical personnel were unable to establish intravenous access. Hines had suffered recent strokes, leaving him partially paralyzed, and his attorneys argued his medical condition made IV access particularly concerning.

Lee declined Hines’ request for clemency Tuesday, saying that after “deliberate consideration” and a review of the case, he would uphold Hines’ sentence and not intervene.

Hines’ attorneys made a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to halt the execution while the court considered their challenge to Tennessee’s execution procedures. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene Thursday morning.

The controversy surrounding the Carruthers attempt has prompted calls for Tennessee to pause executions and review its procedures. Clergy members, death-penalty opponents, and some Republican lawmakers have called for additional scrutiny of the state’s execution process. Lee has declined to impose a moratorium.

“Sadly, Mr. Hines’s execution has done nothing to make Tennesseans safer or ensure that victims of violent crime receive the resources they need for their healing,” said Rector of the TADP. “Instead, the state has spent millions of dollars over decades to execute a seriously ill man who was already incarcerated.”

Hines’ execution came on a grim milestone for capital punishment in the United States. Three executions were scheduled Thursday in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alabama — the first time three people were set to be executed on the same day since Jan. 7, 2010, when Louisiana, Ohio, and Texas carried out executions.

Source: memphisflyer.com, Toby Sells, DPN, August 13, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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