Target: Bill Lee, Governor of Tennessee
Goal: Pause lethal injections after state’s latest failed execution attempt.
A woman is on a ventilator following a botched execution attempt in Tennessee. Christa Pike’s controversial case – which began decades ago when she was convicted of another young woman’s murder – had taken several turns in the hours leading up to her scheduled date with death. A pause on the execution had resulted because of possible mitigating factors Pike’s attorneys argued had not been introduced into her initial trial. The U.S. Supreme Court lifted the stay, allowing the first execution of a Tennessee woman in over a century to proceed. But during the lethal injection administration, witnesses reported Pike still making sounds of life – and even speaking to nearby officials – even after she was administered a second dose of the supposedly lethal drug. After around two reported hours of confusion, witnesses were ushered out…and Pike’s attorney soon thereafter indicated that the inmate had been taken – still alive – to the hospital, where she so far remains.
The failed execution ignited a firestorm that led to an investigation announced by Tennessee’s governor, a resignation by the top prison official, and an announcement that another scheduled execution in the state would not take place. But the controversy goes far beyond this immediate case. Earlier in the year, another Tennessee death row inmate – Tony Carruthers – was subjected to an ill-fated execution involving the same drug. In total, dozens of botched executions have been documented in the past few decades. About seven percent of all lethal injection executions involve a failure of some sort. The drug used primarily for executions since the first Trump administration – pentobarbital – has drawn particular scrutiny. A federal review of the drug indicated that lethal doses very likely cause lung fluid buildup that creates a sensation of prolonged suffocation. The drug was even discontinued during the prior administration due to the conclusion that it could cause “unnecessary pain and suffering.”
Several major drug manufacturers have united to prevent their pharmaceuticals from being used in executions, which has led to notoriously murky supply chains for these drugs and an alarming lack of regulation. Sign the petition below to demand Tennessee put a moratorium on all executions.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Governor Lee,
Finger-pointing and fall guys will not fix the widening chasms in America’s lethal injection drug supply and distribution system. Too many states that carry out this practice operate under an opaque framework that shields distributors of these lethal drugs from scrutiny or oversight. Reputable pharmaceutical companies that have chosen to take themselves out of the business of death have taken along with them the rigorous protocols and quality control essential for ensuring humane does not morph into inhumane barbarity.
Christa Pike is the latest and most high-profile example, but she will not be the last. Order a full, comprehensive, and transparent review of Tennessee’s pentobarbital supply chain. And indefinitely extend the moratorium on executions — including a potential for commutations to life sentences in Pike’s case and others — before another preventable and horrifying outcome results.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Pavel Danilyuk
