Christa Pike Survives Two Lethal Injections; Governor Orders Probe
[NASHVILLE] The execution of Tennessee death-row inmate Christa Pike went drastically wrong on the night of September 30: two successive lethal injections failed to kill her, media including KFF reported October 1. Gov. Bill Lee has ordered an investigation and halted the execution process.
Pike, sentenced to death for a 1995 murder, is one of the longest-serving women on Tennessee's death row. Witnesses said execution staff twice failed to establish intravenous access, with Pike remaining conscious throughout.
Gov. Lee said in a statement the incident exposed grave problems in the execution protocol and no execution will resume until the investigation is complete. Anti-death-penalty groups said the episode underscores the cruelty and unreliability of lethal injection; victims' families who support capital punishment voiced anger and disappointment.
Tennessee had already delayed executions multiple times over drug and procedural disputes. The investigation's findings are expected to shape the state's death-penalty policy.
(Source: KFF and other media)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于纳什维尔的田纳西州议会大厦。摄影：Kaldari，公有领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons
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