Time of Death

By Beth Braden

Gary Wayne Sutton is scheduled for execution on 12/3/26 for the 1992 murders of Tommy Griffin and Connie Branam, but questions linger about whether or not the state of Tennessee proved its case beyond... more

· True Crime

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FAQs about Time of Death:

How many episodes does Time of Death have?

The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.

Time of Death episodes:

August 17, 2026 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 about what was happening the night of February 22, 1992, at Howie's Hideaway. Plus, trial testimony from the Sevier County trial shows that an officer amended a vandalism report he'd taken at James's house on February 15, 1992, to add a detail that the district attorney used against him at trial.

⛓️ Tennessee's List of Death Row Inmates

📰 A daughter wants her mom remembered as a victim, not just a case, before Tennessee execution

🟠 States that banned the execution of intellectually disabled inmates prior to the Atkins v. Virginia decision

📣 Find Gary and James's February 28, 1992 statements to police

🟠 How a Court Seats a Jury

🟠 Tennessee Supreme Court Information

⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website

🌍 Google Map of Places of Note

☕Buy Beth a Coffee

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Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

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Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com

...more
50min
July 30, 202612. (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 safety

💰 Bill Lee Budget Passage Includes $1 Million for Prison Reentry Program

⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website

🌍 Google Map of Places of Note

☕Buy Beth a Coffee

Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.

Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
...more
25min
July 17, 202611. (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.

👨 Gov. Bill Lee Statement to WVLT

🌍 History of Cherokee, North Carolina

✉️ Rep. Jody Barrett's Letter

🖋️ Sign the 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

☕Buy Beth a Coffee

Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.

Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
...more
33min
July 03, 2026 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

📰 Christa Pike's Attorneys File Motion Challenging Constitutionality of Lethal Injection

📰 GOP Senators Seek Review of Botched Execution

🖋️ Sign the 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

☕Buy Beth a Coffee

Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.

Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com

...more
56min
June 19, 20269. 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

Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.

Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
...more
32min
June 05, 20268. 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

Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.

Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
...more
34min
May 29, 20267. 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.

☕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 Relevant Articles

WBIR: Gary Sutton supporters hold press conference

WVLT: Death row inmate supporters rally at Blount County Courthouse after failed execution of Tony Carruthers

WATE: Supporters of Gary Sutton speak after Tony Carruthers's botched execution

Action News 5: ACLU calls on Bill Lee to halt executions pending resolution of lawsuit

Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.

Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
...more
41min
May 22, 20266. 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.

ACLU Files Lawsuit

Bill Lee Tuesday Statement

Riverbend Maximum Security Institution

Bill Lee / Tennessee Department of Corrections Thursday Statement

Witnesses Speak after Failed Execution

Tennessean report on the failed execution

Commercial Appeal report on the failed execution

Buy Beth a Coffee

Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.

Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
...more
43min
May 14, 2026 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. Follow us on your favorite platform.

Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
...more
24min
May 08, 20264. 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 the changes to Alcoa Highway

🎥 Beth, Carolyn, and Amy go to Bluff Heights Road

☕Buy Beth a Coffee

Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.

Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
...more
33min

FAQs about Time of Death:

How many episodes does Time of Death have?

The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.