NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Correction said a man sentenced to death in 1996 died at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Monday.
It said James Dellinger, 71, died of natural causes. His attorney said he had cancer.
Dellinger was sentenced to death for first-degree murder in Blount County. He was convicted alongside Gary Sutton for the deaths of Tommy Griffin and his sister, Connie Branam, in 1992.
Griffin died in Blount County and his sister died in Sevier County, according to court records.
Dellinger's attorney, Amy D. Harwell, said in a statement to WBIR that he'd been battling cancer.
"Mr. Dellinger died before his legal team was able to vindicate his absolute and unwavering insistence that he was innocent of the murders that sent him to death row.
"Mr. Dellinger was the consummate East Tennessee story teller, among the last of a breed of mountain men who lived large and recounted his adventures in even larger stories. To spend any time with James Dellinger was a gift—getting to listen to a master practice his craft. From bear stories to moonshine, James Dellinger knew how to keep an audience enthralled. His family and legal team mourn his passing."
The department said Dellinger was pronounced dead at 11:58 a.m. Monday. Dellinger was on death row for more than two decades and in 2014, he lost an appeal hearing in Blount County. In that hearing, attorneys said Dellinger wanted to submit new evidence that would overturn an earlier decision that placed his IQ over 70.
Under state law, a person with an IQ lower than 70 cannot be sentenced to death. However, the judge refused to reopen the issue.
His co-defendant, Sutton, was set to be executed in 2022. However, that execution was canceled following concerns about the state's execution methods.
Gov. Bill Lee recently announced plans to change the state's lethal injection protocol, following changes in TDOC leadership. That announcement came after a months-long, third-party review of how lethal injections were administered and prepared at TDOC.