Tennessee Governor Bill Lee granted a one-year stay of execution to Tony Carruthers on Thursday after corrections personnel were unable to establish the required backup intravenous line for lethal injection.

Carruthers, 57, was scheduled to be executed Thursday morning for his conviction in connection with the 1994 murders of three people in Memphis. The victims were identified as Marcellos Anderson, 21; his mother, Delois Anderson, 43; and Frederick Tucker, 17.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement that medical personnel successfully established a primary IV line but were unable to immediately establish the backup line required under the state's lethal injection protocol. The execution was subsequently called off due to this procedural requirement.

Governor Lee issued the stay as Carruthers' lawyer Maria DeLiberato was speaking to reporters about the case. The one-year reprieve provides additional time for legal proceedings to continue.

Carruthers' defense team has raised questions about the evidence in his case and his mental competency. Courts had previously denied requests to test DNA and fingerprint evidence and ruled that he was mentally competent to be executed.

The failed execution attempt highlights ongoing challenges with lethal injection procedures, where medical difficulties in establishing IV access have previously led to delays or complications in other states' execution processes.