Attorneys for Tennessee inmate worry state could use expired drugs for lethal injection | CNN

Attorneys for a Tennessee death row inmate say they are concerned the state may be planning to use expired lethal injection drugs at his execution on Thursday, a growing concern across the country as states work to keep most information about their drugs secret. Tony Carruthers’ attorneys twice asked the Tennessee Department of Correction last month whether it had secured the appropriate drugs for his execution date and for assurance the drugs had not expired. Assistant Attorney General John W. Ayers’ response did not directly answer but said the department will comply with its lethal injection protocol — which includes regular inventory of the drugs to monitor expiration dates. Carruthers, 57, was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the 1994 kidnappings and murders of Marcellos Anderson, his mother Delois Anderson, and Frederick Tucker. The Tennessee Department of Correction declined to answer on Wednesday when asked by The Associated Press whether the drugs they plan to use to kill Carruthers are expired. Gov. Bill Lee’s office did not immediately respond to a similar inquiry. Federal Public Defender Amy Harwell said in an email that expiration dates reflect wh