NASHVILLE — Tennessee executed death row inmate Anthony Darrell Hines Thursday morning for the 1985 stabbing death of Catherine Jean Jenkins, state officials and family members said. Hines, 66, was pronounced dead at 10:43 a.m. at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
Execution follows earlier troubles with lethal injection attempts
The execution comes less than three months after the state’s previous attempt was halted when prison staff encountered problems establishing the intravenous access used for lethal injection. This time, authorities completed the procedure and declared Hines dead shortly before 11 a.m.
Hines was convicted in the killing of Catherine Jean Jenkins, who was 54 when she was fatally stabbed while working at a Kingston Springs motel in March 1985. Jenkins left behind a husband and four children; her family members attended the post-execution media availability and described the long-lasting toll of the crime.
Family members speak publicly after decades of waiting
Jenkins’ son, Dennis Jenkins, told reporters about the violence his mother suffered and voiced his reaction to the execution.
“For those of you that may be concerned as to whether or not this animal [Hines] suffered, let me tell you what he did to my mother,” Dennis Jenkins said, recounting details of the attack and expressing satisfaction with the outcome.
Jenkins described the attack as brutal, saying Hines stabbed their mother multiple times and sexually assaulted her using the same knife. He concluded his remarks saying he hoped Hines had suffered because of what had been done to their mother.
Another of Jenkins’ children, Melissa Jenkins, also addressed the press following the execution, reflecting on the family’s loss and their efforts to move forward in the decades since her mother’s death.
Case timeline and impact
The killing occurred in March 1985 at a motel in Kingston Springs where Jenkins was working. At the time, Melissa Jenkins was 22 years old. The conviction and the death sentence for Hines resulted from the legal process that followed; this week’s execution closed a chapter in a case that has lasted more than four decades.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1985 | Catherine Jean Jenkins was killed at a Kingston Springs motel. |
| Conviction (date unspecified) | Anthony Darrell Hines was convicted and sentenced to death. |
| 2026 | Hines was executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. |
Broader context
The execution occurred against a backdrop of renewed attention to the mechanics of capital punishment in Tennessee after a prior execution attempt was called off due to difficulty establishing IV access. That aborted attempt prompted debate about procedures used in lethal injections and the training of personnel involved, but state corrections officials and the prosecution proceeded with Thursday’s sentence.
Voices from the scene
Family members of Jenkins spoke in emotional terms about the decades of grieving. Jenkins’ daughter described her mother as a devoted wife, mother, homemaker and a woman of faith. The family said those qualities form the core of their memories and underscored the long-term consequences of the crime for four children and a spouse who survived her.
- Victim: Catherine Jean Jenkins, 54 at time of death.
- Perpetrator: Anthony Darrell Hines, executed at age 66.
- Location of execution: Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Nashville.
The execution and the family statements were witnessed and reported by media at the prison. No additional details about the execution protocol used were provided publicly by corrections officials in the immediate aftermath.
As the state carried out the sentence, Jenkins’ surviving family members said the justice system’s action cannot erase the impact of their mother’s death but represents an endpoint to the criminal case that has shaped their lives for more than 40 years.
State corrections and court records provide the public account of the conviction and sentencing. Further inquiries about the legal timeline in the Hines case and the technical details of the execution procedure may be directed to the Tennessee Department of Correction or the county prosecutor's office that handled the case.
Reporting for this article included statements made by Jenkins family members at the prison after the execution.
