- Christa Gail Pike, 50, survived an attempted execution by lethal injection in Tennessee after receiving two doses of pentobarbital.
- Pentobarbital is a barbiturate that slows brain and nervous system activity. It has been used medically to treat seizures and, in high doses, can suppress breathing and cause death. It is widely used for lethal injections in the US, either alone or with other drugs.
- Fourteen inmates have been executed with single-drug pentobarbital injections this year — seven in Texas, six in Missouri and one in Georgia. The Biden administration withdrew the federal pentobarbital execution policy, citing “significant uncertainty” over whether the drug could cause unnecessary pain and suffering.
- Its routine medical use has also declined because of overdose risks.
- The Trump administration reauthorized pentobarbital for federal executions, arguing the Biden administration had misinterpreted the science and that the drug rapidly renders prisoners unconscious and unable to experience pain.
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