Questions surrounding Tennessee’s administration of capital punishment have resurfaced following the botched execution of Christa Pike, marking the second time since 2022 that the state has suspended the death penalty despite accounting for only a small minority of executions across the United States.
Her legal team reported on Friday that the 50-year-old was left unconscious and hooked to a ventilator in a facility near Nashville. They stated that staff in the death chamber pricked her with needles at least seven times before administering two doses of lethal chemicals, leaving her hospitalised with severe burns and blisters on her arms.
