Tony Carruthers execution to be held Thursday morning, ACLU hoping for a stay of execution

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-22

[00:00:01]All right, uh we do our continuing our breaking news coverage this morning when it comes to the execution the scheduled execution of Memphis triple murder suspect Tony Caruthers. He was convicted in this triple murder.

[00:00:13]In just minutes in the last few minutes the execution was scheduled to take place. It is happening in Nashville at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institute institution in Nashville.

[00:00:23]We are waiting word official word from the state on if that has actually taken place. It is a process there's a process that happens when this when an execution goes through uh it has to be the uh lethal injection process takes place and then the death is declared and then the state makes the announcement with the a formal time and official time of death.

[00:00:43]So, we'll continue to monitor and wait for a final word uh on if that execution has actually taken place or if there was a last-minute stay that we had not heard about it at this point. Um but we'll continue to follow that and keep you updated on the case and keep you up-to-date up-to-date on what's happening at this moment and how we got here. Now, Caruthers was convicted in one of Memphis's most notorious murder cases. We're talking about the case in 1984 the killing of Marcellus Anderson Anderson his mother uh and Frederick Tucker as well. Their bodies were all found buried beneath a grave in South Memphis. We're going to continue our live team coverage with reaction from um from our reporters as well as legal experts and families as well.

[00:01:23]Let's get you back into the timeline of events in case you maybe you weren't here when this all happened or you've just heard of it. Uh back in February of '94 three people disappeared in Memphis.

[00:01:33]Then days later investigators made a discovery at Rosehill Cemetery in South Memphis.

[00:01:39]Excuse me. Prosecutors [clears throat] alleged that Marcellus Anderson his mother and Frederick Tucker were all kidnapped and buried in a grave beneath the casket that was actually prepared for another funeral. Investigators suspect that some of those victims were still alive when they were actually buried. Tony Caruthers and his co-defendant James Montgomery were later convicted and then sentenced to death. Caruthers represented himself during portions of the trial after repeated disputes with attorneys. Now, over the decades, he has filed several appeals claiming his innocence, claiming mental health concerns, and constitutional violations.

[00:02:12]Tennessee courts have repeatedly upheld his conviction and his death sentence.

[00:02:18]Now, those deaths those killings shocked the Mid-South more than uh three decades ago. And this morning, there are still some legal questions and emotional reaction from victims' families and anti-death penalty advocates. We are trying to monitor the situation at the same time. Um we have breaking We're going to continue our breaking news coverage this morning with ABC 24's uh reporter Ezekiel Telemaco, who's live outside of Shelby County Jail downtown. And Zeke, I know we've been uh previewing and uh tell telling the story behind this case, but we are still waiting for any last-minute word on if this execution [music] has actually taken place.

[00:02:56]That's correct, Ruben. Right now, our desk is currently in communication [music] with the TDOC in terms of if this execution actually went through or if, again, this was halted by the court.

[00:03:07]We're not sure at the moment right now, but what we can report and tell you right now is that a bunch of organizations within Tennessee and across the nation have been advocating on behalf of Caruthers so that this would not happen. But again, when it comes to the timeline of these events, this all started back in February, like you just mentioned, of 1994 when he was accused of killing, again, three people.

[00:03:29]More specifically, those people are Marcelo Anderson, his mother DeLois Anderson, and Frederick Tucker. Now, prosecutors said that the victims were buried in a Memphis cemetery after Caruthers >> [music] >> tried to take over an illegal drug trade within that specific neighborhood. Now, Caruthers was forced to represent himself at trial after repeatedly complaining about court-appointed attorneys, and he even threatened some of them. Now, court filings show that there was no physical evidence tying Caruthers to the killings, and prosecutors relied heavily on testimony from people who claim that they heard him confess or discuss those crimes.

[00:04:03]Now, that included a man that later revealed to be a police informant that claimed he was paid for his testimony.

[00:04:09]Also, his co-defendant James Montgomery, who was also sentenced to death, but was later resentenced and released from prison in 2015. Now, it comes to Governor Bill Lee, he said that on Tuesday he reviewed Caruthers' request for clemency and does not plan to intervene. So, again, he was scheduled to be executed at 10:00 a.m. in Nashville. We're still kind of waiting to see, uh, you know, if that has happened or not. But again, advocates believe that untested DNA and fingerprint evidence could provide more answers in the case, uh, if the execution has not taken place yet.

[00:04:41]People in Tennessee want a justice system that they can trust. There is evidence that should have been tested at the time of Tony's trial, and it was not. We can test it now, and we should, to make sure that the system is functioning properly.

[00:04:59]And when it comes to the Caruthers family, again, the execution was scheduled to be at 10:00 a.m. in Nashville, but they were pleading right before that for the state to delay this execution.

[00:05:10]The time was right to test those fingerprints and the DNA in 1994 when they discovered the bodies of Marcellus and Dolores and Little Fred Tucker. The time was right to test the DNA during the trial in 1996 so that no one would have any, um, ambiguity about what happened to Marcellus, Dolores, Little Fred Tucker.

[00:05:37]Courts have previously upheld Caruthers' conviction and death sentence through multiple appeals, and the ACLU of Tennessee says that it's still pursuing emergency appeals through the US Supreme Court ahead of again, this execution, but you know, this was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. in Nashville. So, again, we're still waiting for communication back from the TDOC on whether this execution took place for Tony Carruthers or not. But again, make sure to stay tuned to ABC 24 on our app, the ABC 24 Plus app, as well as on our website at abc24.com so that when we have whenever we get that that specific update as to what [music] took place in Nashville today, we'll make sure to tell you first. Reporting live in Memphis, I'm Ezekiel Telemaque, ABC 24 News.

[00:06:21]All right.

[00:06:22]Can I can I keep Ezekiel there for a second and is he still available?

[00:06:27]If not, we'll go on to we'll continue, but I'd love to get back with Ezekiel here a minute and discuss what what he's seen and heard from people as he's been covering this case and as he's been covering this story. So, Zeke, I know you've been covering this now for a few days and been able to dig a little deeper into the case and hear from some of the advocates. What's been the overall message for them? Is it more of a hey, we just want to make sure that he needs we need [music] to know for sure or is it truly hey, he's innocent and this doesn't need [music] to happen?

[00:07:03]I think that a lot of people are just concerned about the DNA process. Again, they don't have any physical evidence that shows that he committed these three kidnappings and murders when it comes to what took place in that Memphis cemetery [music] back in 1994. But what I could tell you more specifically is that they're advocating for additional fingerprint and DNA testings to take place before again, the scheduled execution that again was scheduled at 10:00 a.m. in Nashville. So, when it comes to that, again, I think that main mainly people are not advocating that he's innocent, but they're saying more specifically that this DNA testing should be taken because again, once you execute somebody, they're dead. There's There's that you can do [music] to bring them back. so you have to be 100% sure that this person committed those crimes. Uh and again, he was found guilty for these crimes, but if there is new evidence, these advocates were saying that the state should take a look at it. And again, uh Governor Bill Lee did take a look at this specific case on Tuesday when it comes to clemency and decided that he's just going to not intervene when it comes to this specific case, Ruben. So, I think that a lot of people are just concerned about this overall process knowing that again, if there was no uh DNA when it comes to the fingerprints and more specifically uh this new information that could provide more uh details in terms of if he actually did this or not, uh you know, why should they go through with this execution when there is some new information that could be available and wouldn't take too long. So, I think that's what people are mainly concerned about when it comes to those advocates.

[00:08:29]And more specifically, the ACLU, as you heard in those sound bites that we played for you earlier. But again, we're still waiting to confirm on whether or not this execution took place. It was scheduled to take place at 10:00 a.m. in Nashville. Again, we're still waiting for the response of the TDOC, and we'll make sure to bring that to you as soon as we can. Reporting live in Nashville, I'm Ezekiel or in Memphis, I'm Ezekiel Telemaco, ABC 24 News.