Dr. Mark Fowler reportedly oversaw the failed execution of Tony Carruthers on May 21, five months before Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital

NEED TO KNOW

The doctor who oversaw Christa Pike‘s failed execution on Wednesday, Sept. 30, was reportedly involved in another botched execution earlier this year.

Pike, who was sentenced to death for her role in the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, was reportedly left “alive and snoring” after she received two doses of pentobarbital, a lethal drug, on Wednesday evening, and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Dr. Mark Fowler oversaw the 50-year-old’s execution, and was also involved in the failed execution of convicted kidnapper and murderer Tony Carruthers on May 21, reported local TV outlets WSMV and WVLT and U.K. newspaper The Times.

In court documents seen by PEOPLE, an eyewitness account from Carruthers’ lawyer said the execution team struggled to find a vein in the 57-year-old during his execution procedure.

The physician involved, who was not directly named in the documents, then tried to place a larger tube into a major vein, first near Carruthers’ neck and then beneath his collarbone.

According to the account, Carruthers was heard saying, “It hurt, it hurts.”

A medical expert who reviewed the procedure also raised concerns, and noted that the doctor involved had said in a 2025 deposition that he had only placed about a dozen central lines during his career, and had not done so since 2013.

The medical expert also criticized the apparent decision not to use ultrasound during the attempted execution of Carruthers, and raised concerns about the administration of local anesthetic.

In response, Fowler told NBC News in June that “Every attempt was made to minimize the defendant’s discomfort in the case at hand.”

“No one wants Carruthers to suffer,” he added.

The following month, Carruthers’ sister, Tonya Hervey, filed a complaint with the Tennessee Department of Health. Per The Times, she accused Fowler of violating medical ethics.

Following the botched attempt, Carruthers was granted a one-year reprieve by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, the newspaper reported.

After Pike survived her own execution, Lee halted all executions in his state for the rest of the year and ordered a “comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.”

New execution dates for Carruthers and Pike have not yet been determined.

According to The Times, Fowler, 69, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Doctors supervising executions are usually kept anonymous by law, and Fowler’s role in the state was only fully revealed in August 2025, when a Tennessee Department of Corrections warden said his name while announcing the execution of another prisoner.

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During a sworn deposition two months later, Fowler said he became the state’s execution doctor after his friend asked him “to accompany him to an execution so that I might take over when he retired,” per The Times.

He added about his identity being shared, “I certainly hope your office will handle this responsibly and that I won’t be reading about myself in The Nashville Banner or The Guardian.”

PEOPLE reached out to the Tennessee Department of Corrections and Dr. Mark Fowler for comment, but did not immediately hear back.