NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has postponed the scheduled execution of Gary Wayne Sutton, granting the death row inmate a reprieve until Oct. 7, 2027. Sutton had been set to die by lethal injection on Dec. 3. The reprieve, recorded in an executive order, does not change his conviction or death sentence; it prevents the state from carrying out the execution before the new date. The decision comes after Tennessee paused its remaining executions scheduled for 2026 following an unsuccessful execution attempt involving Christa Pike on Sept. 30. Pike received two doses of pentobarbital and was taken to a hospital. Her attorneys said she was discharged Oct. 10 and returned to the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center for continued medical care. Tennessee Department of Correction officials have said they followed the state’s execution protocol in Pike’s case. Her attorneys have disputed that account, raising concerns about IV access, medical care and the lethal-injection procedures. A Davidson County Chancery Court judge has allowed Pike’s lawsuit challenging the protocol to return to the court docket and ordered state officials to preserve evidence related to the attempt. The ruling did not decide whether the protocol is lawful. Sutton’s attorneys welcomed the reprieve and say they will continue legal efforts that they believe could block his execution permanently. One pending claim argues Sutton has an intellectual disability that would make him ineligible for execution under the law. An appeal connected to that claim is before the Tennessee Supreme Court. Sutton was sentenced to death for the 1992 killing of Tommy Griffin and has maintained his innocence. His attorneys have questioned testimony from former state medical examiner Charles Harlan at Sutton’s 1996 trial; Harlan later lost his medical license. Federal courts previously rejected Sutton’s challenge to his conviction based on Harlan-related claims, finding that the disputed time-of-death testimony did not outweigh other circumstantial evidence presented at trial.