Tennessee execution called off after failed lethal injection

Carruthers' case has drawn national attention as advocates like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have argued there were significant problems with his trial, including that he was forced to represent himself.Carruthers himself has consistently maintained his innocence. "His trial was riddled with errors. He was denied legal counsel. There was no physical evidence linked to him," the ACLU said in a press release demanding the "wrongful execution" of Carruthers be called off. "The evidence against him that was presented at trial came from informants who have since recanted their statements or been discredited," the ACLU continued. The nonprofit group also collected more than 130,000 signatures calling for the execution to be halted to allow for "necessary fingerprint and DNA testing".Advocates and community groups delivered that petition to the governor's office at the Tennessee capitol on Monday, but Gov Lee announced the following day that Carruthers' execution would go forward as planned.Last week, Kim Kardashian took up Carruthers' cause, urging her fans in a social media post to call the governor's office and demand the DNA evidence be tested "before it's too late", according to US media. In a petition for clemency filed on Wednesday, attorneys for Carruthers argued that his current mental state - resulting from Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type, and brain damage - is too impaired for him to be executed.