Tennessee fails to execute Christa Pike after 2 lethal injections: What happens next as per Tennessee law?

The failed execution of Christa Pike has raised concerns in Tennessee and beyond. Guv Bill Lee has postponed her execution and ordered a review. Pike's condition remains unclear after a troubling execution attempt on Wednesday, which has sparked legal questions about lethal injection procedures.

The failed execution of Christa Pike has sent shockwaves across the legal system of Tennessee and the United States at large.

While officials have not yet explained what went wrong during the failed execution, governor Bill Lee has ordered a review of the situation, and has indefinitely postponed Pike's execution as well as another execution that was scheduled for this year.

Pike condition remained unknown on Thursday. At one point during the attempt at execution on Wednesday night, she had asked prison officials if her arm was supposed to feel a certain way, Reuters reported.

However, it was unclear whether this was after the first dose was injected, since this information is not shared by officials.

More than an hour after the process began and around 30 minutes after she was injected with a backup dose of pentobarbital, Pike was heard snoring loudly.

What the law says

As per Tennessee Code, the method of execution for a person sentenced to death always has to be by lethal injection unless "Lethal injection is held to be unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction" or "The commissioner of correction certifies to the governor that the department is unable to carry out a sentence of death by lethal injection despite making reasonable efforts to do so."

The alternative method in these cases is electrocution, as per the Code.

However, this does not mean that after any failed execution the authorities can automatically choose to switch methods. The legal question that could become a subject of litigation in this case is whether this failed attempt qualifies as an inability to carry out lethal injection and what procedure must follow after this.

What the governor said

The governor of Tennessee has broad clemency authority, which includes the powers to grant a reprieve, commutation or pardon after conviction.

Tennessee governor Bill Lee has decided to order a review and indefinitely postpone the execution along with another one that was scheduled for this year.

“There are very few answers this morning. It’s very early," Lee told reporters Thursday at an unrelated event, noting he had received no updates on Pike's condition. "The people of our state deserve to have those questions answered."

He said that prison staff did follow procedure and what happened was “deeply disturbing”.

The 50-year-old Pike was scheduled for execution on Wednesday morning for a murder committed when she was 18. She would have been the first to be executed in Tennessee in more than a couple of centuries. An appeals court stopped the execution an hour before it was to start, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that stay hours later.

In a statement, the Tennessee Department of Correction said that it “followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office.”

With agency inputs

About the Author

Sayak Basu is a digital journalist with more than seven years of experience in covering general news, politics, science, cricket, and football. He brings a sharp editorial eye and a keen attention to detail in the newsroom.<br><br> Sayak focuses on breaking stories, analysis of political and sporting events, and new scientific research that is pushing the limits of civilisation.<br><br> He has earlier worked for publications like NewsBytes, Cinemaholic, Zacks Investment Research, and Deccan Herald. Sayak currently serves as an Assistant Editor at Livemint where he runs daily news operations.<br><br> Sayak has a master's degree in English Literature from Jadavpur University, Kolkata.<br><br> Based out of Bengaluru, he has a keen interest in world cinema, literature, sports, and music.

Stay updated with the latest Trending, India, World and US news.

HomeNewsUs NewsTennessee fails to execute Christa Pike after 2 lethal injections: What happens next as per Tennessee law?