A scheduled execution in Tennessee ended with the inmate alive and hospitalized after two separate rounds of lethal injection drugs failed to kill her. Christa Pike was pronounced neither this nor that Wednesday night inside the death chamber, and the state ended up rushing her to a hospital where her attorneys say she’s receiving life-saving care. The state maintains it followed its written protocol to the letter. That protocol, however, says nothing about what to do when an inmate survives a second round.
Governor Bill Lee responded by halting the state’s remaining execution this year and ordering an outside review. Meanwhile, Pike’s legal team is arguing that subjecting an inmate to a lethal injection twice meets the definition of cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, setting up a confrontation that legal experts say could stretch on for years. One Florida attorney says a second attempt is likely, but expects the state to face serious legal obstacles at every step.
This matters well beyond Tennessee. Florida carries out executions using lethal injection, and challenges to how those protocols are written and followed have a way of spreading from state to state. If a process meant to be humane and effective can fail this publicly, courts across the country, including ours, will be asked hard questions. What do you think: if an execution fails twice, should the state be permitted to try a third time? Let us know in the comments.
