Christa Pike survived a lethal injection attempt – the latest person to endure a failed execution

The constitutional prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment has shaped legal discourse around failed executions, but courts have not stopped states from attempting to execute the same person again.

By: Austin Sarat, Amherst College, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 1, 2026

Words: 1,472

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 2 days ago

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By Austin Sarat, Amherst College

Christa Pike survived an execution attempt in Tennessee on Sept. 30, 2026, after receiving two doses of pentobarbital, a lethal drug. Gov. Bill Lee has temporarily suspended executions in the state.

Pike became the first person ever to get full doses of the drugs intended to kill her and to live nonetheless. But she is not the only person to have survived an execution failure in the …

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