Christa Pike's Failed Execution Raises Questions About State Execution Methods

Christa Pike's survival after two doses of lethal injection has prompted scrutiny of state execution protocols across the United States. The methods of execution vary by state, with lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, and firing squads among the authorized methods. Lethal injections are the most common execution method, accounting for approximately 89% of the 1,683 executions carried out since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. More than two dozen states have lethal injection as a primary method. Lethal gas is authorized in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Electrocution is allowed in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The firing squad is permitted in Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah, with Idaho being the only state where it is the primary method. Some states allow prisoners to choose among different execution methods. The Supreme Court mandates that the death penalty be reserved for the most heinous murders. Pike, who was convicted of killing a classmate three decades ago, survived two rounds of lethal injection earlier this week, which would have marked the first execution of a woman in Tennessee in 200 years. As of Friday, Pike remained alive, on a ventilator, and unconscious, as reported by the Associated Press.