Complaint accuses doctor involved in failed Tennessee execution of violating ethics

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The sister of a Tennessee death row inmate whose execution was halted because of problems inserting an IV has filed a complaint against the doctor who was involved.

The complaint filed Wednesday with the Tennessee Department of Health by Tonya Hervey says Tony Carruthers suffered excruciating pain during the May 21 attempt to administer a lethal injection and the family believes he now has partial paralysis that they attribute to a stroke.

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.