A man executed for a 1985 murder said ‘tell my son hello’ as his final words, to the child he hadn’t seen since age three

Anthony Darrell Hines was executed in Tennessee on August 13, following more than four decades on death row. As reported by LADbible, the 66-year-old was put to death by lethal injection at 10:43 AM after exhausting his legal appeals.

When asked if he had any final words, Hines initially declined, saying, “Not right now, thank you.” Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada later said Hines then looked toward the witness room and delivered a brief message, saying, “Tell my son hello.”

The son, who has chosen to remain anonymous, was present in the witness room during the execution. According to reports, the two had only reconnected four days before the execution after not seeing each other since the son was three years old, and observers said he appeared to have tears in his eyes as he left the room afterward.

Hines had spent decades on death row for a 1985 murder

Hines had been incarcerated since the March 1985 murder of Catherine Jean Jenkins, a 54-year-old mother and grandmother who worked as a housekeeper at a motel in Kingston Springs. His legal team argued in recent years that his declining health, including two strokes that left him with cognitive impairment and limited use of the left side of his body, warranted a commutation to life in prison.

However, those efforts were unsuccessful. His case adds to a broader national debate over how executions are carried out, one that intensified after Florida’s recent double execution drew national attention to death row procedures earlier this year.

Before the execution, Hines requested a final meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, a chicken sandwich, corn, coleslaw, fries, biscuits, and sweet tea. He was secured to a gurney at 10:30 AM, and a spiritual advisor remained in the chamber as IV lines were inserted. The case comes as federal and state authorities have faced renewed scrutiny over capital punishment policy, including debate over the Justice Department’s revived execution methods announced earlier this year.

Following the execution, Catherine Jean Jenkins’ family addressed the case’s conclusion. Her son, Denis Jenkins, referenced the original crime, noting his mother had been stabbed multiple times and sexually assaulted, and said, “I hope he did suffer,” adding that any pain Hines experienced did not compare to what his mother went through. Her daughter, Melissa Jenkins, said the family felt they could finally move forward after four decades of grief, while continuing to mourn her mother’s death.

Hines was one of three men executed in the United States on August 13, alongside 70-year-old Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez in Alabama and 42-year-old Jeremy Williams in Oklahoma.