Governor Lee Urged to Review Death Row Case as Execution Date Looms for Gary Sutton

Governor Bill Lee had once promised to review the Sutton case before setting an execution date. That promise is no longer theoretical. An execution day has now been scheduled.

On an icy but sunlit morning, a small group of family members, friends, and advocates gathered to say the same thing they have been saying for years — only now with far greater urgency. Their message was blunt: Gary Sutton is innocent, and executing him would be a crime. “I pray that Governor Lee will listen to us,” his daughter, Casondra Young, said. “I just want him to look at our case — look at that case,” another added. “He will see that he is innocent. There is nothing holding him. He is an innocent man, and he will be put to death this year if someone does not look at his case.” she said.

Supporters argue that a serious review of the conviction has never taken place — despite mounting questions about the evidence and the investigation that led to Sutton’s death sentence. Those questions, they say, are not academic. For several years, advocates have independently reviewed the case, retracing the steps law enforcement and prosecutors took decades ago. FOX 17 News traveled from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to Owensboro, Kentucky, re-interviewing witnesses and examining testimony that has changed since the trial 33 years ago.

Watch the full video here.