Blackburn calls on Tennessee to ‘bring back’ electric chair after botched Christa Pike execution
Blackburn said Tennessee should revive the electric chair after two botched lethal injections in four months, while opponent Jerri Green called the death penalty inhumane.
- On Wednesday night, Tennessee prison officials halted the execution of Christa Pike at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after two doses of pentobarbital failed to kill her; Pike remains in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
- Governor Bill Lee ordered a third-party investigation into the failure and paused all remaining executions for the year, stating, "We should find out what happened and make those changes necessary."
- U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn called on state officials to resume using the electric chair, writing, "Bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly."
- Democratic candidate Jerri Green condemned the state's reliance on capital punishment, describing the death penalty as "inhumane, expensive, and biased" while advocating for life sentences.
- Emory University School of Medicine professor Dr. Joel Zivot warned Pike "likely never achieved a sufficient blood level" of pentobarbital, risking brain injury; Tennessee law allows electrocution for offenders sentenced before 1999.
33 Articles
33 Articles
Senator calls for action after Christa Pike’s failed execution
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- For a state carrying out one of its most serious responsibilities, there is one thing leaders from both parties appear to agree on: what happened Wednesday night cannot simply be brushed aside. Christa Pike, 50, survived Tennessee’s attempt to execute her by lethal injection Wednesday night after receiving two doses of pentobarbital. [...]
'Bring Back the Electric Chair': Marsha Blackburn's Vow After Christa Pike Survives Two Pentobarbital Doses
US Senator Marsha Blackburn has called for greater use of Tennessee's electric chair after Christa Pike survived a failed execution, prompting a review and an executions pause.
The Moral Clarity of Tennessee Gubernatorial Candidate Jerri Green
John Nichols Even before her state botched another execution, gubernatorial candidate Jerri Green was telling Tennesseans that “the death penalty has always been inhumane, expensive, and biased.”
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