Botched executions have a long history in the United States, dating back to the time of hangings when some condemned individuals were decapitated. The use of the electric chair also saw its share of gruesome incidents, including instances where individuals caught fire during the procedure. More recently, nitrogen hypoxia, introduced as a new execution method, has been criticized for its lack of reliability.
Among the various methods employed, lethal injection has reportedly the highest rate of failure, with over 8% of such executions deemed botched, primarily due to difficulties in locating a suitable vein for the procedure.
Last night marked a significant and unprecedented event when Christa Pike survived an execution attempt in Tennessee that involved lethal doses of pentobarbital. This incident is notable for being the first recorded case in which a person intended to be executed did not die from the administered drugs.
Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, remarked to the New York Times, “This incident is the most severe we have witnessed and is unlike any other botched execution in contemporary history … It sets a new precedent.”
The aftermath of Pike’s survival raises complex questions about the next steps. It is evident that Tennessee should not be permitted to attempt another execution on her.
Furthermore, it is time to abandon the illusion that a safe, reliable, and humane method of execution is attainable. History has shown that such a method remains elusive.
The experience Pike endured was harrowing. No individual, regardless of their actions, deserves to undergo such a fate.
Pike was sentenced to death for a particularly heinous crime. According to reports from the Tennessean, she lured her victim, Slemmer, to a secluded area near the University of Tennessee’s Agricultural Campus under the pretense of sharing marijuana. Assisted by her boyfriend, Pike subjected Slemmer to torture before ultimately killing her with a piece of asphalt, and even carved a pentagram into her body.
At the time of the crime, Pike was just shy of her 18th birthday and had herself been a victim of violence and abuse throughout her life.
As her execution date approached, Pike raised concerns about the cruelty of lethal injection. However, she could not have anticipated the ordeal that awaited her.
Following established execution protocols, Tennessee officials administered two doses of pentobarbital intended to end her life. Instead of succumbing, she was left “snoring” and expressing discomfort, even kicking her feet and dislodging the sheets around her.
Upon learning of the situation, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee intervened, allowing the execution team to halt the process, and Pike was subsequently transported to a hospital.
This is not the first occasion on which Governor Lee has been alerted to a problematic execution. In May, he similarly halted the execution of Tony Carruthers when officials were unable to secure a vein for a backup intravenous line, granting him a one-year reprieve.
Now, Governor Lee and his administration must deliberate on the appropriate course of action concerning Pike. To date, he has only suspended one other execution scheduled in the state this year and has ordered a review of the events surrounding Pike’s execution.
The last recorded instance of someone surviving a botched execution occurred in 1946 when a man named Willie Francis was subjected to a malfunctioning electric chair in Louisiana. The chair failed to deliver lethal current, prompting Francis to sue the state to prevent another execution attempt, but the Supreme Court allowed Louisiana to proceed with a second attempt.
Justice Stanley Reed, writing for the Court, stated, “Even the fact that the petitioner has already been subjected to a current of electricity does not make his subsequent execution more cruel in a constitutional sense than any other execution … The occurrence of an unanticipated malfunction that delayed the execution does not add an element of cruelty to a future execution.” Francis was ultimately executed shortly thereafter.
Since then, numerous executions have been botched, but few have survived to recount their experiences. From 1946 to the present, only nine others have lived following an execution attempt, including Pike. Four of these survivors faced a second execution attempt, while others died on death row. In some instances, the state opted not to pursue another execution, resulting in three individuals still being alive today.
Tennessee has already had its attempt at executing Christa Pike, and it should not be allowed to try again. To do so would amount to double jeopardy, which is prohibited by the Constitution, and would be inherently cruel.
Justice Harold Burton, who dissented in the Francis case, articulated that no individual should endure a second execution. He remarked that the intent of the executioner does not mitigate the suffering or excuse the outcome. According to his perspective, the state has a responsibility to ensure that there is no failure in the execution process.
Ultimately, this issue transcends legal considerations; it is fundamentally about human decency.
Austin Sarat, associate dean of the faculty and William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author of “Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty.”
