Tennessee Department of Correction

But it is, you know, I carry in my, in my body, in my mind, in my heart, the reality that as an elected official and as a state representative of the state of Tennessee, I have a duty and obligation to make sure that those who operate in the name of the state do so with dignity, with respect, um, to all people and also protect the civil rights and the civil liberties of people in our communities too, which is why When Donald Trump said that he was going to bring a task force to our city that has now killed four black men in the last 10 months, that I stood against it before day one.

That's why any time that there's a death at the Shelby County Jail where people are presumed innocent until proving guilty, I am on the front lines of holding the Tennessee Department of Corrections and the county jail accountable for that.

Because these institutions, we are trusting with our lives and with our community safety.

And I view it really as my responsibility and obligation to speak up and to stand up.

Fowler graduated medical school in 1996 and began practicing medicine in 2000.

I reached out to the Tennessee Department of Corrections to ask them about the terms of the agreement with Mark Fowler and whether or not he's on a contract or if he's a state employee.

One of their public information officers, Kayla Hackney, replied, quote, we have no comment, end quote.

I tried filing a Freedom of Information Act request.

Then he uttered his last words.

Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada said they were, tell my son hello.

But witnesses said, he said, tell my son I love him.

Soon after, Hines asked, how long do I have? Diane Gallagher said that she didn't know.

Yeah.

So now, of course, he's saying that in April of 2025, he met with Assistant District Attorney Andrew Hayes, other FBI agents and ATF agents, and a Tennessee Department of Corrections narcotics investigator.

And that's where his career of helping the FBI began.

Oh, boy.

I watched a live stream of the August 13th press conference hosted by Channel 17 in Nashville.

Tennessee Department of Corrections Commissioner Frank Strata was the first to speak, reporting that Darrell Hines was pronounced dead at 10:43 AM.

According to Strata, his last words were, quote, "Tell my son hello," end quote.

The next three speakers were family members of Catherine Jean Jenkins, her son Dennis, her daughter Melissa, and her grandson Garrett, who had all witnessed the execution.