1 hr. ago
PUBLISHED
OCT 03, 2026 AT 07:38 PM EDT
Tennessee officials are still investigating why death row inmate Christa Pike survived an execution attempt after receiving two doses of pentobarbital, a drug intended to render a person unconscious and ultimately cause death.
While the immediate focus has been on what went wrong inside the execution chamber, experts say Pike's case has also renewed scrutiny of a problem that has been building for more than a decade: how states obtain lethal injection drugs after pharmaceutical companies moved aggressively to keep their products from being used in executions. Despite those efforts, pentobarbital remains the primary execution drug used by many death-penalty states, making questions about sourcing, testing and oversight especially significant.
The issue has reshaped how many states carry out executions, forcing them to change drug protocols, seek alternative suppliers and adopt increasingly secretive procurement practices.
#pentobarbital #executions #published #tennessee
OCT 03, 2026 AT 07:38 PM EDT
Tennessee officials are still investigating why death row inmate Christa Pike survived an execution attempt after receiving two doses of pentobarbital, a drug intended to render a person unconscious and ultimately cause death.
While the immediate focus has been on what went wrong inside the execution chamber, experts say Pike's case has also renewed scrutiny of a problem that has been building for more than a decade: how states obtain lethal injection drugs after pharmaceutical companies moved aggressively to keep their products from being used in executions. Despite those efforts, pentobarbital remains the primary execution drug used by many death-penalty states, making questions about sourcing, testing and oversight especially significant.
The issue has reshaped how many states carry out executions, forcing them to change drug protocols, seek alternative suppliers and adopt increasingly secretive procurement practices.
#pentobarbital #executions #published #tennessee
3 days ago
The lethal drug administered in Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike has been used in multiple states that carry out the death penalty and by the U.S. government after President Donald Trump resumed federal executions during his first term.
Pike, 50, remained alive after two doses of pentobarbital were administered Wednesday, according to her attorneys and media witnesses. One of her lawyers said Thursday that she was being treated at a hospital.
Tennessee officials haven't explained yet what went wrong during the execution.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee ordered a third-party review to determine what happened and said another scheduled execution in Tennessee will not take place this year.
Pentobarbital is a barbiturate, a class of drugs that depresses the central nervous system.
#pike #administered #execution #wednesday
Pike, 50, remained alive after two doses of pentobarbital were administered Wednesday, according to her attorneys and media witnesses. One of her lawyers said Thursday that she was being treated at a hospital.
Tennessee officials haven't explained yet what went wrong during the execution.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee ordered a third-party review to determine what happened and said another scheduled execution in Tennessee will not take place this year.
Pentobarbital is a barbiturate, a class of drugs that depresses the central nervous system.
#pike #administered #execution #wednesday
3 days ago
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee governor ordered an outside investigation and halted executions late Wednesday, hours after an inmate survived a lethal injection attempt.
Tennessee officials were unable to put Christa Gail Pike to death for a 1995 murder after administering two doses of a lethal drug. A death penalty expert said it was an unprecedented failure.
Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement that he has ordered "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred" and that scheduled executions will not be carried out this year.
"Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State's most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective," he said.
Tennessee only has one other execution scheduled this year.
#tennessee #death #year
Tennessee officials were unable to put Christa Gail Pike to death for a 1995 murder after administering two doses of a lethal drug. A death penalty expert said it was an unprecedented failure.
Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement that he has ordered "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred" and that scheduled executions will not be carried out this year.
"Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State's most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective," he said.
Tennessee only has one other execution scheduled this year.
#tennessee #death #year
2 months ago
Iran publicly hanged two young men Tuesday over their alleged roles in January's nationwide anti-government protests, as onlookers chanted "Dishonorable, dishonorable!" before security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an exiled Iranian opposition group.
Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi were hanged Tuesday in Isfahan's Shahid Alikhani Square — where authorities alleged they committed offenses connected to the Jan. 8 protests, according to the NCRI and Iranian state media.
The NCRI said onlookers condemned the executions before security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. The opposition group also said security personnel had been deployed on rooftops and surrounding streets.
Iranian state media also reported the public executions, Reuters said, with Iran's semi-official news agency Mehr saying they were carried out in Alikhani Square "in the presence of a group of people."
Who Is Ahmad Vahidi? Iran's New Irgc Chief Tied To Global Attacks And 'Death To America' Ideology
#group
Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi were hanged Tuesday in Isfahan's Shahid Alikhani Square — where authorities alleged they committed offenses connected to the Jan. 8 protests, according to the NCRI and Iranian state media.
The NCRI said onlookers condemned the executions before security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. The opposition group also said security personnel had been deployed on rooftops and surrounding streets.
Iranian state media also reported the public executions, Reuters said, with Iran's semi-official news agency Mehr saying they were carried out in Alikhani Square "in the presence of a group of people."
Who Is Ahmad Vahidi? Iran's New Irgc Chief Tied To Global Attacks And 'Death To America' Ideology
#group
4 months ago
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Hamas militants and police units in Gaza beat, maimed and publicly executed dozens of Palestinians during its war with Israel in acts amounting to war crimes, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday.
The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' report documented hundreds of cases of extrajudicial punishment in the war-ravaged territory, which it said were often publicized during and afterward to instill fear in the populace.
“These cases involved executions, kneecapping, bone-breaking with metal pipes or cement bricks and beatings and were framed by the perpetrators as punishments for alleged collaboration with Israel, looting humanitarian aid, theft, drug-related offenses or affiliations with internal rivals,” it said.
The commission found that Hamas-affiliated militants and police forces were involved in nearly one-fourth of the 249 documented cases — including 108 deaths — from August 2024 to January 2026. The commission specifically investigated cases involving Hamas-affiliated forces but also counted ones attributed to other armed groups.
Representatives for Hamas did not respond to questions about the report’s allegations.
The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' report documented hundreds of cases of extrajudicial punishment in the war-ravaged territory, which it said were often publicized during and afterward to instill fear in the populace.
“These cases involved executions, kneecapping, bone-breaking with metal pipes or cement bricks and beatings and were framed by the perpetrators as punishments for alleged collaboration with Israel, looting humanitarian aid, theft, drug-related offenses or affiliations with internal rivals,” it said.
The commission found that Hamas-affiliated militants and police forces were involved in nearly one-fourth of the 249 documented cases — including 108 deaths — from August 2024 to January 2026. The commission specifically investigated cases involving Hamas-affiliated forces but also counted ones attributed to other armed groups.
Representatives for Hamas did not respond to questions about the report’s allegations.
8 months ago
China executes 11 members of Myanmar-based group in crackdown on scam operations
BANGKOK (AP) — China executed 11 people it found guilty of killing 14 Chinese citizens and running scam and gambling operations worth more than $1 billion, authorities said.
The Wenzhou city Intermediate People's Court announced the executions in a statement Thursday morning. It sentenced the 11 people to death in September. They included Ming Guoping and Ming Zhenzhen, members of the Ming family who the court found led the scam and gambling operations, as well as Zhou Weichang, Wu Hongming and Luao Jianzhang,
BANGKOK (AP) — China executed 11 people it found guilty of killing 14 Chinese citizens and running scam and gambling operations worth more than $1 billion, authorities said.
The Wenzhou city Intermediate People's Court announced the executions in a statement Thursday morning. It sentenced the 11 people to death in September. They included Ming Guoping and Ming Zhenzhen, members of the Ming family who the court found led the scam and gambling operations, as well as Zhou Weichang, Wu Hongming and Luao Jianzhang,
8 months ago
A look at the US military ****** ets heading to the Middle East
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has been sending U.S. military ****** ets into the Middle East this week, including an aircraft carrier group and its thousands of troops, as President Donald Trump indicates he is maintaining the possibility of strikes on Iran amid its crackdown on protests.
“We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump told reporters Thursday, saying they were going “just in case.”
Trump has threatened military action if Iran carried out mass executions of prison
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has been sending U.S. military ****** ets into the Middle East this week, including an aircraft carrier group and its thousands of troops, as President Donald Trump indicates he is maintaining the possibility of strikes on Iran amid its crackdown on protests.
“We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump told reporters Thursday, saying they were going “just in case.”
Trump has threatened military action if Iran carried out mass executions of prison
