Tennessee Prison Chief Resigns After 2-Dose Execution of Christa Pike Fails
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 6
Tennessee Prison Chief Resigns After 2-Dose Execution of Christa Pike Fails
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 6
Summary
Two doses of pentobarbital failed to kill Christa Pike, leaving her in critical condition and triggering the resignation of Tennessee’s prison chief.
The botched lethal injection also reignited scrutiny of execution methods as states face growing difficulty obtaining drugs and mounting legal challenges to capital punishment.
Lethal injection has been the dominant U.S. method since executions resumed in 1976, though some states now authorize alternatives including nitrogen hypoxia, firing squads and the electric chair.
Twenty-seven states still allow the death penalty, but only 16 states and the federal government have carried out executions in the past decade; the U.S. was among 17 countries to execute prisoners last year.