May 22, 2026, 9:17 amMay 22, 2026, 09:32
A planned execution by lethal injection in the US state of Tennessee was stopped at the last second. An access was made, but despite several attempts, no vein was found for the legally required second access, the responsible enforcement authority said. The convicted man is currently “off the stretcher” again, a lawyer was quoted as saying by NBC News.
The execution of this US prisoner failed.Image: keystone
The convict has been in prison for over 30 years after being convicted of, among other things, triple murder. Until the very end, his lawyers tried to prove his innocence with DNA analysis. Melanie Verdecia, who, among others, legally represents the convicted man, said: “The state of Tennessee is currently torturing in the name of justice a man who protests his innocence. That’s not how our system should work.”
Governor postpones execution for a year
The death penalty is controversial in the USA; so far 23 of the 50 US states have abolished it. In several other states it is de facto no longer enforced.
The suitability of lethal injection was recently debated in Tennessee. It is the most common method of execution in the USA. The state suspended all executions for three years after it emerged that it had not properly tested the lethal injections for effectiveness.
The state’s governor, Bill Lee, drew conclusions shortly after the news of the aborted execution. The execution will be postponed for a year, his office said. A few days earlier, Lee had rejected a request for clemency from the convicted man. (dab/sda/dpa)