Tennessee Man Survives Failed Lethal Injection Execution, Joins Rare Group of Execution Survivors

Tony Carruthers became the ninth man in 80 years to survive an execution attempt when Tennessee's lethal injection procedure failed on May 21, 2026. The execution team could only secure one IV line and failed to establish the required backup line mandated by state protocol, prompting Governor Bill Lee to grant a one-year reprieve without explanation. Historical examination reveals execution failures span centuries and multiple methods: Charles Getter survived a broken rope during an 1833 hanging in Pennsylvania; Will Purvis survived a loosened noose in 1894 Mississippi; and Willie Francis survived a failed 1946 electrocution in Louisiana at age 16. Of the nine documented survivors in the past 80 years, four were subsequently executed on second attempts, three died on death row, and one remains alive awaiting his fate. The legal precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1947 decision in Francis's case permitted states to retry executions, and courts have generally not intervened to prevent second execution attempts based on Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.