Anthony Darrell Hines was put to death by lethal injection on Aug. 13, 2026.
"Tell my son hello," were his last words. His son was in attendance at Hines' execution.
Hines suffered two strokes before he died and was physically disabled and cognitively impaired. He had very limited use of the left side of his body and depended on prison infirmary staff for most daily tasks, according to his legal team. It was difficult for him to speak, eat and swallow.
His muscles had atrophied significantly in the months following the strokes, and he suffered from spasticity of his left arm, which was consistently bent at the elbow with a clenched fist. His attorneys asked Gov. Bill Lee to commute his sentence to life in prison due to his medical problems and poor
prognosis, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Hines was sentenced to death for the March 3, 1985, murder of Catherine Jean Jenkins, who worked as a maid at the Cebon Motel in Kingston Springs, Tennessee. He was convicted of robbing Jenkins of the $100 she had to make change for hotel guests and stabbing her to death.
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: Last words of Tennessee death row inmate Anthony Darrell Hines
