NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has postponed the scheduled execution of death row prisoner Gary Wayne Sutton until Oct. 7, 2027, as the state reviews its execution procedures following a failed attempt to execute Christa Pike. Sutton had been scheduled to die Dec. 3. Lee granted him a one-year reprieve after ordering a pause on executions scheduled for the rest of 2026, more than a week after the state failed to execute Pike. The governor ordered an independent review to determine whether the Tennessee Department of Correction followed its protocols and whether those procedures are lawful and effective. Former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton was selected to conduct the review, according to the governor’s office. Sutton was convicted in connection with the 1992 killings of Connie Brannum and her brother, Tommy Griffin, in Blount and Sevier counties. He has maintained his innocence for more than three decades, said Johnna Henry of the Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender, which represents him. Henry said Sutton’s legal team welcomes the reprieve while the state investigates its execution procedures. She also said the team intends to present evidence of Sutton’s intellectual disability, which it argues makes him ineligible for execution under state and federal law. Whether a court will consider that evidence is pending before the Tennessee Supreme Court. The case adds to scrutiny of Tennessee’s execution practices. Pike’s failed execution attempt came four months after the state also botched the execution of Tony Carruthers; Carruthers’ family has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit, according to the report.