Nicholas Todd Sutton
Nicholas Todd Sutton, known to family and friends as Nick, was executed by electrocution at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 20, 2020, after more than three decades on death row. His wife, Reba Sutton, called him her best friend, and former prison staff said he had protected them and other people held there, including during a 1985 riot, and had become a positive influence. Governor Bill Lee declined to grant clemency, despite requests from his attorneys, several jurors, correction staff and some victims' families. Some victims' families opposed the execution, and his lawyer, Kevin Sharp, said the legal team would keep seeking relief. He chose electrocution over lethal injection, and he spoke of his faith and his marriage in his final statement.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Objections to the execution were raised by his attorneys, family, several jurors and former prison staff, who asked Governor Bill Lee for clemency, arguing he had changed over decades in prison and had protected staff and other inmates during a 1985 riot.
Reported by: Tennessee Department of Correction (the agency that held him); news reports.
News reports (7)
- State of Tennessee executes Nick Sutton
- 3 corrections officers say Nicholas Sutton protected them; he was executed tonight
- Man Who Saved Three Prison Guards Executed by State of Tennessee
- Tennessee Executes Nick Sutton, Despite Protests from Prison Guards and the Victims' Families
- Tennessee executes convicted killer despite pleas of victims’ families, jurors and prison guards
- Nick Sutton executed: Final words in electric chair of murderer who stabbed child rapist
- Tennessee Set to Execute Intellectually Disabled Black Man In Killing of White Woman Even Though Innocence Questions Persist