Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee ordered a halt to all scheduled executions in the state after Wednesday’s dramatic failure of Christa Pike’s execution.
Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, called the incident “unprecedented” because Pike was still breathing after two lethal injections of pentobarbital.
While survival rates following injections are particularly shocking, other instances of failed or botched executions are also well documented.
What is poor execution?
Poor execution is a broad term used to cover any execution that goes wrong.
This may include delays, procedural failures, equipment failures, execution method management issues, prolonged time to death or other complications that cause unnecessary suffering or reflect serious errors by the officer.
Depending on the method used, botched executions involve difficulties setting up intravenous lines, improper drug administration, electric chair malfunctions, gas chamber problems and other violations of established protocols.
“I think a lot of people believe the narrative that’s being pushed by the state that people fall asleep very quickly, just like putting your favorite pet to sleep,” said Blaire Andres, director of U.S. death penalty casework for Reprieve, a nonprofit group that opposes lethal injection. “So I think cases like Pike’s really pull back the curtain.” newsweek.
How many executions failed?
“While this may be one of the worst executions in American history, what we saw last night is not unusual. Unfortunately, botched executions by lethal injection are not uncommon. They happen all the time,” Andres said.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there were 8,766 executions between 1890 and 2010, of which 276 were improperly executed, for an overall improper execution rate of 3.15%.
Of these figures, lethal injection has the highest error rate at 7.12%. In comparison, the fatality rate from lethal gases was 5.4%, that from hanging was 3.12%, and that from electrocution was 1.92%. The only thing that didn’t go awry was the firing squad.
In Reprieve’s 2024 report, 73 of 1,407 lethal injections or attempted executions between 1977 and December 2023 were classified as botched executions, a rate of about 5.2%.
“Due to the widespread secrecy surrounding executions… the true number of botched executions during the reporting period is likely to be much higher than the number identified in the data set,” the report reads.
previous botched execution
There have been some botched executions involving hanging, electrocution and gassing, but most high-profile cases involve lethal injection.
Perhaps the closest case to Pike’s botched execution is that of Clayton Lockett, who was executed in Oklahoma in 2014.
Lockett, who was convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery in 1999, died after his executioners struggled to establish intravenous access and drugs were incorrectly injected into the tissue instead of the vein.
Officials stopped the execution, but Clayton died of a heart attack about 43 minutes after it began.
“If Miss Pike’s situation is similar to Clayton Lockett’s situation and there is a situation of intravenous infiltration where the drug leaks into the tissue rather than entering the bloodstream, then what could happen is an overdose of a drug like pentobarbital and the person could end up being deeply sedated but still alive,” Andres said.
Most recently in May 2026, when Tony Carruthers was convicted of the 1994 kidnappings and murders of three people, prison staff spent about 30 minutes trying unsuccessfully to establish intravenous access before Dr. Mark Fowler, who was also expected to oversee the execution of Christa Pike, was called.
After multiple failed attempts to gain access, the execution was halted and Governor Bill Lee gave Carruthers a one-year reprieve.
Carruthers’ attorney later said she witnessed her client’s “pain,” adding: “As I watched the entire process unraveled, I discovered that what mattered most was not competency or even a display of professionalism. It was completion.”
What is pentobarbital?
Pentobarbital is a potent barbiturate sedative that depresses the central nervous system. High doses can cause unconsciousness, respiratory failure and death.
It is currently used as a single-drug lethal injection protocol in several U.S. states, including Tennessee.
The intended effect is rapid sedation followed by unconsciousness, and while the dose is administered, the drug suppresses the brain’s control of breathing until it stops. Without oxygen, the heart will eventually stop beating, leading to death.
What happened to Krista Peck?
“My arm felt like it was going to split open,” Parker, 50, reportedly said after taking two doses of pentobarbital.
Media witnesses said Pike raised his head, looked around, yelled about burning and pain and asked if this was normal.
The Tennessee Department of Corrections later reported that Pike had been taken to a hospital, but it was unclear what treatment might have occurred.
Joel Zivot, a professor at Emory University School of Medicine, was hired as a medical expert by Parker’s legal team. he told newsweek: “It appears to me that both IVs exploded. The veins ruptured and the pentobarbital never entered her circulation.
“Maybe a small amount of bullets, but not enough to kill her. If done right, one round should kill her,” he explained.
Ziwert said another possibility is that the pentobarbital itself was “degraded” or something similar. “Everything about how pentobarbital is prepared and purchased is secret,” he said.
Ziwert added: “Failed injections of lethal injection have become increasingly common. It’s a stolen medical practice. It uses medical tools designed to treat people, not to harm them, but to kill them. And it’s not easily transferable to this death chamber.”
What will happen to Krista Pike?
The state has not provided an update on Pike’s condition since reports that Pike was taken to the hospital following the execution.
Ziwert said it’s “hard to know” what will happen next.
“This could be anything from surviving intact, to suffering a range of injuries including brain damage, or dying in hospital – all of these are possible,” he said.
Contact Newsweek editors: Tobias Meyjes and Cristina Diciu.