Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Aug. 11 confirmed he will not intervene in the scheduled execution of Anthony Darrell Hines, planned for 10 a.m. Aug. 13 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
“After deliberate consideration of Anthony Darrell Hines’ request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene," Lee said in a statement.
While Hines is one of multiple plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Correction challenging the constitutionality of the department's lethal injection protocol, developments in that case are not expected to stop his scheduled execution in its tracks. Lee's decision not to intervene means the execution is likely
to continue as planned.
Hines was sentenced to death in 1986 for the March 3, 1985, murder of Catherine Jean Jenkins at the Cebon Motel in Kingston Springs, Tennessee.
Jenkins, 54, was working as a maid at the motel. On the day of the murder, she had a bank bag with $100 cash to make change for guests who were checking out. Investigators said she was in the middle of cleaning room 21 when she was robbed of the cash and stabbed to death.
Hines, in his mid-20s and from Bowling Green, Kentucky, was a guest at the motel the night before Jenkins was killed. He stole Jenkins' silver 1980 Volvo, which was later recovered abandoned on Interstate 65. Hines has admitted to taking the car but has maintained that he did not kill Jenkins.
Death row inmate selects final meal following denied plea for clemency
Attorneys for Hines had filed a clemency petition on his behalf, asking Lee to prevent the execution from moving forward. In it, they raised concerns about the state's lethal injection protocol, pointing to the failed May execution of Tony Carruthers. Lee granted Carruthers a one-year reprieve from the death chamber after the execution was called off.
Attorneys also said Hines is in poor health after multiple strokes left him permanently disabled with limited use of the left side of his body.
Hines has chosen his final meal. According to a representative of TDOC, he has requested fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, corn, fries, biscuits, a chicken sandwich, chocolate chip cake and a sweet tea.
Molly Davis covers growth and development in Nashville and assists with special projects. You can email her with comments, questions and tips at mmdavis@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Gov. Lee rejects plea for clemency, Hines selects final meal
