Time of Death
There are no witnesses, no fingerprints, and no confession to the 1992 deaths of Tommy Griffin and his sister, Connie Branam in East Tennessee. There are, however, four alleged and un-investigated alternate suspects, six alibi witnesses, a disgraced medical examiner, a nearly impossible timeline, a bad search warrant, and a man named Gary Sutton sitting on Death Row. Did the state damn the wrong man to die?
21. You Can't Be in Two Places At Once: Blount County Part 2
Time and trauma warps memories, and that leads to some shifting testimony between what some of the witnesses said in Blount County in 1996 versus what they said in Sevier County in 1992. Also, a closer look at the state's timeline proves impossible as Gary and James couldn't have been in two places at once several different times on February 21, 1992.
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🗳️ Where to vote early in Tennessee
📄 Sevier County Case Files
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
🌍 Google Map of Places of Note
⚖️ Justice for Ga...
20. A Man With a Scar: The Blount County Trial Part 1
In some ways, the Blount County trial was identical to the first, right down to the order in which the state called its witnesses, but one of the waitresses from Howie's Hideaway had a brand new detail to her testimony.
🗳️ Where to vote early in Tennessee
🔍 2022 Review of Tennessee's Lethal Injection Protocol
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📄 Sevier County Case Files
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
🌍 Google Map of Places of Note
⚖️ Justice for Gary Website
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BONUS: The Christa Pike Tapes
This week, Nashville, Tennessee's Department of Emergency Communications released a series of phone calls that routed through the DEC on the night of September 30, 2026 — the same night that Christa Gail Pike was scheduled to be executed for the 1995 homicide of Colleen Slemmer.
Pike, however, survived.
Her botched execution paved the way for Gary Wayne Sutton's December 3, 2026, execution to be paused while Gov. Bill Lee called for another review of the state's lethal injection protocol.
In this special bonus episode of Time of Death, Beth Braden walks you through the timeline of the phone calls...
19. Gary Gets a Rare Win + Christa Pike Wakes Up
Gary's formal reprieve was filed, and he has at least a year before the Tennessee Supreme Court can set a new execution date. Christa Pike has woken up after her botched September 30 execution. And finally, Beth gets back to discussing the leadup to the 1996 Blount County trial.
🔍 2022 Review of Tennessee's Lethal Injection Protocol
📤 LAWYERS: Send Beth an Email
👩🏾⚖️ Judge orders that Christa Pike execution evidence be preserved
📰 Tennessee again taps former US Attorney to review execution protocol
📰 2023: Frank Strada Appointed to Oversee TDOC
🏜️ A brief history of the death penalty in Arizona
18. BREAKING NEWS: A Botched Execution + Gary's Reprieve
Things went terribly, terribly awry when the state of Tennessee attempted to execute Christa Gail Pike on September 30.
It was so bad that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee cancelled Gary Wayne Sutton's Dec. 3 execution, but there is still so much work to do.
🗣️ Hear from Christa Pike's Attorneys
📃 Documents Referenced in the Episode
📹 Replay the Tennessean's livestream of the post-execution press conference
📰 Christa Pike Execution Timeline at The Tennesseean
✅ Tennesseeans: Register to vote by October 5
⛪ Church of the Condemned
🗣️ Colleen Slemmer's Mother Speaks After failed Execution
🏨 Fo...
17. Won't You Stay? Gary's Attorneys Ask for Pause on Execution
Gary Wayne Sutton's attorneys have formally asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to stay his execution pending the outcome of his intellectual disability claim. Plus, Beth looks at the time period between the Sevier County conviction and the Blount County Trial. ALSO - The Sevier County case files and transcripts are now available on Beth's website.
Episode Links
📁 Sevier County Case Files
📜 Gary Sutton's Motion for a Stay of Execution
🎙️ Beth appears on Cup of Justice Podcast
🗞️ 'I'm her voice' | Mother prepares for the execution of her daughter's convicted murderer, 31 years later
⚖️ T...
16. One Headlight: The Sevier County Trial Part 3
Did the jury get lost in the weeds when testimony about Gary's headlights dealt a devastating blow to the defense's credibility? Also in this episode, the witnesses used to bolster the state's theory that it was Gary and his uncle, James, beating Tommy Griffin on the side of Alcoa Highway both said they saw a dark colored Chevrolet Camaro. Gary owned a dark colored Camaro, but the witnesses disagreed on a huge detail.
📃 Christa Pike Clemency Petition 📃 Christa Pike Amicus Brief 🚗 Car and Driver Camaro Body Styles 👤 Sevier County Trial Witness List 📝 David Davenport Memo ⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death P...15. No Evidence: The Sevier County Trial Part 2
A man at Howie's Hideaway, and a woman who tracked Gary across Sevier County cause a huge problem with the state's timeline and theory regarding Connie Branam's death. PLUS - a world renowned forensic anthropologist responded to the scene of Connie Branam's burned car. Find out what he could and couldn't discern from the evidence. Beth also explains how she's keeping the witnesses organized in her head and talks a little bit about the next person scheduled for execution in Tennessee.
Episode Links:
📰 The Guardian: Tennessee says child rapists deserve to die. Now it prepares to e...
14. I Didn't Say That: The Sevier County Trial Part 1
Changing stories and denials came out as Gary Sutton and James Dellinger's attorneys began cross examining witnesses during the 1993 Sevier County Trial for the death of Connie Branam. But who's telling the truth?
Also - Beth does a deep dive into Dr. Mark Fowler, the physician who oversees executions in Tennessee. It turns out that MD isn't his first career.
Today marks 98 days until Gary Wayne Sutton's December 3 execution.
Episode Links
📰 Dr. Mark Fowler Column on Death Penalty 📰 Dr. Mark Fowler to oversee Pike execution 📹 Spring 2026 Footage from Bluff Heights Road ✏️ Death Penalty Information...13. Pulled Rugs and Last Minute Revisions
The past, present, and future collided for this episode as Anthony Darrell Hines execution came just days after the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Gary Wayne Sutton's intellectual disability hearing can move forward.
Gary's celebration was short-lived as the Tennessee Attorney General filed another appeal - this time to the state Supreme Court asking for them to vacate the ruling that would allow the intellectual disability hearing to happen as docketed for October 1.
Meanwhile, finally finding a transcript of James Dellinger's February 28, 1992 statement to police shored up some details abou...
12. (Alleged) Alt Suspects and Rabbit Holes Part 3
Bill Cogdill, the fourth and final alleged alternate suspect, had some pretty specific details about Connie Branam's crime scene several days before Connie was found burned in her car near Clear Fork in Wears Valley, Tennessee. Plus, hear what a former member of the execution team wrote to Governor Bill Lee about his experience carrying out execution.
Episode Links
📰 Tennessee Lookout: Republican gubernatorial candidates disagree on death penalty methods 🗳️ Find your Tennessee polling place 📰 'The trauma nearly killed me': op-ed from a former corrections officer 👮 TDOC: Governor's Faith-Based & Community Initiative and TDOC unite to mobilize volunteers, increase public...11. (Alleged) Alternate Suspects and Rabbit Holes Part 2
It turns out that not only were Connie Branam and Tommy Griffin supposed to be witnesses in a trial the week before their deaths…they were being subpoenaed as prosecution witnesses, but nobody seems to know why + another Republican lawmaker is calling for a review of the state's lethal injection protocol.
Stay connected w...
10. (Alleged) Alternate Suspects and Rabbit Holes - Part 1
Who are Bobby Floyd, Eddie Blair, Lester Johnson, and Bill Cogdill? Beth looks into the alternate suspects that, for whatever reason, were mostly ignored during Gary Sutton's homicide trials in Blount and Sevier Counties. Also, get updates on Carolyn Weaver's recent health scares, a group of Republican senators asking Governor Bill Lee to halt executions, and a letter from Gary's attorney to Bill Lee.
Episode Links:
✉️ Read Letter to Governor Bill Lee on Behalf of Gary Sutton
📰 WKRN: Attorneys Seek Reprieve on Behalf of Darrell Hines
✉️ Read Darrell Hines's Letter to Governor Lee <...
9. The Race Was On
🧑⚖️ Christa Pike asks Supreme Court to Halt Execution over abuse, illness 📣 Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine calls to abolish death penalty in Ohio, victim's family reacts ☕Buy Beth a Coffee ⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website 🌍 Google Map of Places of Note - Including the changes to Alcoa Highway
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8. No Turning Back
Connie Branam's car is found along Clear Fork above Wears Valley, and the cops conduct a search of James Dellinger's home. Then, Gary and James are arrested and charged with Connie's death.
Episode Links
🎧 Listen to Beth on Truth and Justice with Bob Ruff
🟢 Spotify Link 🍎 Apple Link🏢 Beth tries to take a VCR to the Sevier County Courthouse
☕Buy Beth a Coffee
💉 Tennessee's Lethal Injection Protocol Manual
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
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7. The Space Between
Blount County Chief Detective Dale Gourley speaks to the media about Tommy Griffin's death and Connie Branam's disappearance as searchers comb Sevier County for the missing woman. Gary Sutton, reeling from the death of his best friend, talks to police twice, not realizing that the walls are closing in around him.
Also in this episode - updates from last week's failed execution of Tony Carruthers and the silence from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in Gary's intellectual disability hearing.
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⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website ...
6. The Discovery
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay in Gary Sutton's intellectual disability hearing, and Governor Bill Lee has granted Tony Caruthers a temporary reprieve from execution following a failed execution attempt on 5/21/26. Then, we go back in time to some very interesting details about what Tommy Griffin didn't have with him when he was found in Walland on February 24, 1992.
5. Another Saturday Night
Connie Branam sat up nearly all night after her brother's trailer burned to the ground on February 21, 1992. On February 22, she began looking for him, and she ended up back at Howie's Hideaway in Maryville with Gary Sutton and James Dellinger.
Episode Links
☕Buy Beth a Coffee
📰 WBIR - James Dellinger Dies in Prison
🧑⚖️ Tennessee Supreme Court Order for Gary Sutton's Execution
💉 Tennessee's Lethal Injection Protocol Manual
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follo...
4. Diverging Timelines
Alcoa, Tennessee, police officers find Tommy Griffin shirtless and beaten on the night of February 21, 1992, and arrest him for public intoxication. The state's theory of the case diverges as it maintains that it was Gary and James who beat Tommy that night while Gary and James say they were already back home in the holler.
Episode Links
🎧 True Crimecast Episode on Gary Sutton 📰 WSMV Article about Tony Caruthers🖋️ Petition for Tennessee's Governor Bill Lee to review Gary Sutton's case
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
🌍 Google Map of Places of Note - Including...
3. Finally Friday
With seven criminal charges dismissed, Gary Sutton's weekend was looking up, and he had a full day to hang around with his best friend, Tommy Griffin, and his Uncle James Dellinger. Before midnight, Tommy would be in jail and his trailer would be a smoldering heap.
Episode Links
❓Beth questions trailer fire investigation
🔎 Wondering what it takes to investigate a decades old case?
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2. The Bells that Tolled Before
Things were tense in the holler on Bluff Heights in the months leading up to the death of Tommy Griffin and Connie Branum, but Gary Sutton finally got some good news.
📱 Text or call 988 if you are struggling with suicidal thoughts - 988lifeline.org
📸 Beth pays her respects at Martin Justus Cemetery
📃 Atkins v. Virginia overview & opinions - Justia
🗞️ "Nashville DA says death row inmate should not face execution due to intellectual disability" - The Tennessean, March 11, 2022
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1. One Weekend in February
Gary Wayne Sutton has been in prison for 34 years. He's spent 30 of them on death row. The State of Tennessee is scheduled to execute him on December 3, 2026….but was his guilt proven beyond a reasonable doubt?
Episode Links
📸 Photo of Carolyn & Gary from 1993
🗞️ "4 Tennessee death row inmates scheduled for execution in 2026" - WJHL, Jan 16, 2026
📸 One of Beth's many visits to Sevier County's archives
🎤 Dolly Parton's America Podcast
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