| HEADLINE |
|
US woman survives failed lethal injection attempt
Published : Friday, 2 October, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Observer online report
A Tennessee death-row inmate remained alive after the US state attempted to execute her with two doses of lethal injection, leaving her legal and medical future uncertain.
Christa Pike, 50, was taken to hospital in critical condition after the execution attempt on Wednesday. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has since suspended executions in the state for the rest of 2026 and ordered an independent review of what went wrong.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer. She was 18 when the crime was committed.
The execution was initially delayed after the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay. The US Supreme Court later allowed the execution to proceed, and the lethal injection was administered before midnight.
Two doses of pentobarbital were administered, but Pike continued breathing and was eventually taken to hospital.
Her lawyers have asked Governor Lee to commute her death sentence, arguing that the failed execution subjected her to severe suffering. The legal consequences of the failed procedure remain unclear.
Experts say failed executions are rare but have occurred in the United States. In 1946, Louisiana inmate Willie Francis survived an attempt to execute him in the electric chair after the equipment malfunctioned. The US Supreme Court later allowed a second execution, which was carried out successfully.
In 2009, Ohio inmate Romell Broom also survived an execution attempt after officials were unable to establish intravenous access. His later legal challenge did not result in his release. He died in prison in 2020.
Pike's case differs because two doses of the lethal drug were administered before the procedure was halted. Her lawyers and state authorities are now awaiting the findings of the independent review.
source: CNN
sks
Loading...
Loading...
Also read
Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
