When Execution Fails

Christa Pike was supposed to be executed Wednesday night. Instead, Tennessee administered two doses of pentobarbital and Pike survived. An hour into the attempt, she was still breathing and was eventually rushed to a hospital and is now in critical condition. Her attorneys said it was unclear if she might have suffered brain damage from being deprived of oxygen during the two attempts. Could this have been avoided? After all, her lawyers had warned beforehand that a lifelong blood disorder could make establishing IV access difficult. Gov. Bill Lee called the failure “deeply disturbing” and halted Tennessee’s other execution for 2026 while ordering an independent review. But if government can’t guarantee in the first place that...

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