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Anthony Darrell Hines, a death row inmate who spent 40 years behind bars, was executed in Tennessee on Thursday, August 13.
The 66-year-old was put to death by lethal injection at 10:43 AM yesterday and had a chilling message for his son before being put to death.
Hines was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the March 1985 murder of Catherine Jean Jenkins, 54.
Catherine, who was a mother and grandmother, worked as a housekeeper in a motel in Kingston Springs and was robbed by the convict before he stabbed her to death.
The Tennessean reported that while he was on death row, the inmate suffered two strokes, being left with limited use of the left side of his body and cognitive impairment.
The inmate had IV lines inserted into his arms while strapped into a gurney at 10:30 AM, with a spiritual advisor present in the chamber during the process.
Before being administered the lethal injection, the inmate was asked if he had any last words, to which he replied: “Not right now, thank you.”
But according to Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada, he then provided a message for his son, adding: “Tell my son hello.”
Hines' son, who has remained nameless by choice, was in the witness room during the process.
CBS News reported that Hines had reconnected with his son just four days before the execution, having not seen him since he was three years old.
It was reported that he had 'tears in his eyes' after witnessing his father's execution.
Hines' legal team argued that it was difficult for him to speak, eat and swallow, and asked that his death sentence be amended to a life sentence due to his medical struggles.
This was ultimately unsuccessful.
As for the inmate's final meal, he requested fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, a chicken sandwich, corn, coleslaw, fries, biscuits, and sweet tea, said a Tennessee Department of Correction spokesperson.
Members of the victim's family said that they felt justice was finally served.
Catherine’s son, Denis Jenkins, said: “For those of you that may be concerned as to whether or not this animal suffered, let me tell you what he did to my mother 41 years ago.
“He stabbed her 13 times, one of which went all the way through and came out her back. He then went on to sexually assault her with the same knife he just stabbed her with.
“I hope he did suffer. I hope he felt severe pain because what he did to my mother is nothing to what he may have just gone through.”
Catherine's daughter, Melissa Jenkins, said that this meant the family could 'close this chapter', as her family 'endured the unimaginable pain and grief of her death' for four decades.
"A lifetime of memories we were denied because she was taken from us," she said. "How do we move forward from a loss like this? The truth is, we never truly do. We will always mourn the wonderful person my mother was, even as we continue living our lives."
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A Texas man who spent more than three decades on death row uttered his final words to his victim's family.
On Thursday (November 9), Brent Ray Brewer, 53, was put to death by lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary in the town of Huntsville, prison officials confirmed.
He was convicted in 1991 for the killing of 66-year-old Robert Laminack in April 1990. The victim offered to give Brewer and his then-girlfriend, Krystie Lynn Nystrom, a lift to a Salvation Army hub in Amarillo, however, he was fatally stabbed in the neck by the couple, who then robbed him of $140.
Nystrom was sentenced to life in prison while Brewer was sentenced to death.
The inmate appealed for a stay of execution to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles but was unanimously denied. He was killed by lethal injection at 6:38PM Central Time last week.
But before he met his fate, Brewer sent a final message to Laminack's family - who were present for the execution - and it was delivered by the prison warden.
According to The Mirror, the prisoner said: "I hope you find peace, and I mean it," and added, "I would like to tell the family of the victim that I could never figure out the words to fix what I have broken."
"I just want you to know that this 53-year-old is not the same reckless 19-year-old kid from 1990," he concluded.
As the drugs took effect in Brewer's body, he gasped twice, snored several times, and then took a few quiet breaths. Within 30 seconds, all movement stopped, per Daily Mail.
Laminack's daughter, Debra Corbin, also offered some words after watching her father's killer being put to death, sharing: "Brent Ray Brewer was in prison more than 33 years. Our mom says our family has been in prison 33 years. We have been released today."
The execution came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to step in over the inmate's claims that prosecutors had depended on false and discredited expert testimony at his 2009 resentencing trial.
Brewer's lawyers had argued that a prosecution expert, Richard Coons, falsely claimed that the prisoner would be a threat in society - a legal finding required to impose a death sentence.
"The Brent that Texas wished to execute is long gone," defense attorney Shawn Nolan said after the final appeal was rejected, via Daily Mail. "The Brent they are killing tonight is a kind, generous, peaceful, and thoughtful man who spent the vast majority of his time repenting and in religious studies."
"He is profoundly remorseful for his crime, committed when he was just nineteen, and he would have done anything to take back the pain he caused the victim's family," he added.
Brewer also apologized to Laminack's family in a video released by his lawyers. "I am sorry for what I did. Even if it doesn't change the outcome at least they get to hear it before I go," he said.
"When you're 19 or 20 and you're confused, or you're on drugs and drinking, or you're hanging around the wrong people, you have no real value system," he continued. "I guess you'd call it a moral compass."
"I sobered up in the county jail and realized that I had done something I can't undo. And I just have had to live with that every day," he concluded.
A convicted double murderer uttered three unusual last words before being executed by lethal injection.
Michael Dewayne Smith was convicted of fatally shooting two women, Janet Moore, 41, and Sharath Pulluru, 22, in two separate incidents in February 2002. Jurors agreed he should be executed for both deaths.
According to prosecutors, the death row inmate - who was alleged to be a gang member - was 19 when he killed Moore because he was looking for her son, who he thought had given his identity to cops, per The Independent.
Later on the same day, prosecutors said Smith then shot Pulluru - who was working as a store clerk at A&Z Food Mart - because he believed she had disrespected his gang. She was then doused in lighter fluid and set on fire, per The Mirror.
The 41-year-old inmate, whose attorneys have claimed is intellectually disabled, had been in custody for 20 years.
At a clemency hearing last month, he broke into tears as he spoke about his innocence regarding the crimes, saying: "I didn’t commit these crimes. I didn’t kill these people...I was high on drugs. I don’t even remember getting arrested," he added. However, his clemency application was denied 4-1.
In another interview with The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network, Smith pleaded: "I don't want to die, man...Who can ever be prepared to die, man? I sure don't want to die for something I didn't do."
Smith made the rare decision to not request a final meal before his scheduled death on Thursday (April 4). When asked if he had any last words, he responded, "Nah, I'm good," according to the Associated Press.
The convict died within minutes of receiving the lethal injection, reporters who witnessed it at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester disclosed. He was pronounced dead at 10:20ET, the Department of Corrections confirmed, per BBC News.
The family of Moore released a statement declaring that "justice has been served" and thanking officers. "It does not go unnoticed or in vain, as we were constantly reminded this is justice for a loss that has caused a ripple for generations to come," the family wrote.
Sharath Babu Pulluru's family also said that Sharath "will forever live in our hearts".
Smith has become the first person to be put to death in Oklahoma this year. He's also the 12th inmate to be put to death since the state resumed executions in 2021.
He was also convicted at a separate trial of second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of a man outside an Oklahoma City club in November 2001. He had confessed to police that he handed the gun to the shooter.
Reverend Don Heath, Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty chair, made the following statement in response to the execution, describing Smith as a troubled and vulnerable young man with intellectual disabilities.
"He was ill-served by advisers who encouraged him to proclaim his innocence instead of accepting responsibility for his crimes. That cost him any chance for clemency," Heath said, per The Independent. "He needed mercy and forgiveness and got none."
Texas executed Richard Lee Tabler on Thursday (February 13), two decades after he fatally shot four people in what he later described as a fit of rage.
Tabler, 46, was administered a lethal injection of pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
He was pronounced dead at 6:38PM, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Among those present for his execution were his mother and sister, as well as the father of one of his victims.
Tabler’s crimes unfolded over Thanksgiving weekend in 2004 near Killeen, Texas.
He lured Mohammed-Amine Rahmouni, 28, and Haitham Zayed, 25, to a remote area under the false pretense of purchasing stolen stereo equipment. Once there, he shot and killed both men.
Rahmouni, who co-owned a Killeen nightclub called TeaZers, had reportedly been in a dispute with Tabler. Investigators later revealed that Rahmouni had allegedly claimed he could have Tabler’s family “wiped out” for $10.
Just two days after the double homicide, Tabler returned to TeaZers, where he shot and killed two teenage dancers, Tiffany Loraine Dotson, 18, and Amanda Benefield, 16.
Tabler later admitted he had been romantically involved with Dotson.
Though he was convicted only for the murders of Rahmouni and Zayed, prosecutors opted not to pursue further convictions for the two teenage victims, as the death penalty had already been secured, per News.com.au.
“The murder of the men was as cold-blooded as it could be,” said Paul McWilliams, the prosecutor who helped put Tabler on death row. “The killing of the girls was just senseless. There was absolutely no reason for that.”
As he lay on the execution gurney, Tabler used his final statement to directly address the families of his victims.
“There is not a day that goes by that I don’t regret my actions,” he said. “I had no right to take your loved ones from you ... I am deeply sorry.”
He acknowledged that his execution might bring closure to some, saying: “If you feel that this is what you need to get you closure, I pray it helps you have that closure. I just hope that one day you find that forgiveness to forgive me for taking your loved ones from you.”
Tabler also expressed gratitude to prison staff, thanking them for their “love, support, and compassion.”
“This isn't the end; this is only the beginning,” he added. “I thank God for allowing me to seek him out and finding him … I know when this happens, and this goes through, it's going to be the end of this life, but it will be the beginning of my ultimate life in heaven.”
With his final breath, he turned to the warden and said: “I am finished.”
As the lethal injection began to take effect, he mouthed one final message: “I’m sorry.”
During his 20 years on Death Row, Richard Lee Tabler claimed he had undergone a profound transformation — finding faith in God and leading a ministry for fellow Death Row inmates.
While awaiting execution, he spent his time drawing peaceful landscapes and writing several books, offering guidance to young people on how to avoid making the same life-altering mistakes that landed him in prison.
Despite his crimes, Tabler’s mother, sister, and wife insisted that the man they knew was far from the “monster” the world saw.
The three women, who spoke exclusively to USA TODAY, chose to remain anonymous due to past harassment they had received as loved ones of a Death Row inmate.
“The Richard that I know is not the man that they portray to be a monster,” said his wife, who met Tabler through a prison letter-writing program.
“I've never met anybody, even out here in the free world, that has a heart bigger than his.”
In a message shared with USA TODAY through his wife, Tabler expressed peace with his fate, crediting his faith for giving him strength.
“A lot of people cannot understand how I can have such peace and joy in my heart in the face of my own death, but I know it’s the strength, grace, and mercy of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has been with me every step of the way,” he wrote.
“The day of my execution is the beginning of my real life.”
A South Carolina death row inmate's final meal before being executed by firing squad has been revealed.
Stephen Bryant, a 44-year-old convicted killer, was put to death on Friday (November 14), marking the state’s third use of the controversial method this year alone.
Bryant was pronounced dead at 6:05PM after three prison officers, each armed with live ammunition, opened fire.
He made no final statement and showed no emotion as he looked at the witnesses behind bulletproof glass. Seconds later, shots rang out, and the red bullseye target pinned to his chest flew forward.
Onlookers shared that he took a few shallow breaths before a final spasm, and a doctor confirmed his death a little over a minute later.
Bryant becomes the 50th person executed in South Carolina since the state reinstated the death penalty four decades ago and the 43rd executed in the US this year.
Before facing the firing squad, he requested a final meal: spicy mixed seafood stir-fry, fried fish over rice, egg rolls, stuffed shrimp, two candy bars, and German chocolate cake, per The New York Post.
His attorney, Bo King, revealed harrowing details about Bryant’s life, pointing to a genetic disorder, brain damage caused by his mother’s substance abuse, and years of physical and sexual abuse from relatives.
“Tonight, South Carolina gave Mr Bryant his final wounds in a lifetime of suffering,” King said in a statement after the execution.
“Mr Bryant’s impairments left him unable to endure the tormenting memories of his childhood. When these traumas pushed him to mental collapse, he pleaded for professional help. He was refused care by our broken mental health system because he could not afford the fee of $75," they added.
The lawyer described the death row inmate as a man who had found a kind of peace before his death. “We will remember his unlikely friendships, his fierce protectiveness, and his love for nature, the water, and the world.”
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South Carolina’s governor denied clemency, and the state’s supreme court rejected appeals claiming the original sentencing had failed to properly consider Bryant’s brain damage.
The attorney general’s office painted a different picture, calling Bryant “methodical” and “cunning,” citing the “gratuitous infliction of horror” in his crimes.
Prosecutors said the prisoner tortured one victim, Willard “TJ” Tietjen, burning his eyes with cigarettes and smearing taunting messages in blood, AP News reported.
He also fatally shot two other men, one before and one after Tietjen, by pulling over to let them urinate before shooting them in the back.
Bryant’s execution came as South Carolina ramped up its use of capital punishment after a 13-year hiatus caused by the inability to obtain lethal injection drugs.
Since resuming executions in 2024, the state has executed seven inmates: four by lethal injection and three by firing squad.
The method has sparked renewed national outrage. Human rights groups have slammed it as “barbaric,” while state officials defend it as quick and humane.
The Rev. Hillary Taylor of South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty condemned the choice inmates are now forced to make.
“Do you choose being poisoned to death in a way that is akin to waterboarding, do you get cooked to death by electrocution, or do you get your heart blown out of your chest by a firing squad?” she said.
South Carolina now joins Utah as the only two states to have executed three people by firing squad in the modern era. Idaho is preparing to make it its primary method, while the option remains legal in Mississippi and Oklahoma.
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