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It does not specifically say how or when they believe the stroke
occurred, and Hervey declined an interview request.
During the attempted execution, the IV team established a
primary line right away but then worked for more than an hour
trying to insert a backup line.
Maria DeLiberato, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney
representing Carruthers, witnessed the attempts and said the
team tried to insert an IV in Carruthers' arm, hand and foot
before Dr. Mark Fowler attempted to insert a central line.
In the end Gov. Bill Lee called off the execution and gave
Carruthers a one-year reprieve.
The complaint accuses Fowler of violating medical ethics by
participating in an execution; by injecting Carruthers with the
anesthetic lidocaine without first establishing that he was not
allergic to it; and by continuing the search for a vein despite
his “visible agony and distress.”
The complaint also says he was unqualified to place a central
line because he had not done so in over a decade.
Fowler declined to comment on the complaint when reached by
telephone.
Dr. Ervin Yen, a retired cardiac anesthesiologist who has
witnessed many executions in Oklahoma and was not involved in
the Carruthers case, said the fact that Fowler had not placed a
central line in years is not necessarily disqualifying. He also
said it is very unlikely that the attempts to place an IV could
have resulted in a stroke.
The Tennessee Department of Correction declined to comment on
the allegations. The Health Department said information on all
complaints and investigations is confidential until formal
charges are filed, including whether an investigation exists.
Carruthers, 58, was found guilty of the 1994 kidnapping and
murder of Marcellos Anderson; Anderson's mother, Delois
Anderson; and Frederick Tucker. Authorities said Marcellos
Anderson was a drug dealer and Carruthers was trying to take
over the illegal trade in their Memphis neighborhood.
Carruthers has maintained his innocence. He was forced to
represent himself at trial after repeatedly complaining about
court-appointed attorneys and threatening to harm several of
them.
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