Tennessee stops executions after doctors say failed injection was a mistake

Tennessee has suspended all executions after medical experts declared the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike to be medical malpractice. The state halted its death row operations pending a review following new details released in court on Thursday.

The chaos began on 30 September, when Pike was brought to the death chamber. Her lawyer, Randy Spivey, filed a detailed account stating that four team members struggled for nearly an hour to place an IV line. The team reportedly used about 10 needles, repeatedly poking Pike’s arms. Spivey’s chronology notes that at several points, the team worried her veins had blown.

At 7:05 pm, a team member requested a 24-gauge needle and moved it around Pike’s arm. Joel Zivot, a professor of anesthesiology and surgery in Atlanta, testified that this size is typically used for infants. He said it was impossible to push 50cc of pentobarbital through such a small catheter without rupturing the vein. Two minutes later, a team member stated, "I think it is blown."

The team attempted to locate a vein using ultrasound, a technique Jonathan Groner, an emeritus professor of clinical surgery at Ohio State University, said requires extensive training. Groner noted the team clearly did not know how to use the equipment. At 7:23 pm, saline was pushed through the line with difficulty. One minute later, the team declared the IV ready and began the execution.

Pike received a dose of pentobarbital that is normally fatal. She grimaced and said her arm was "really burning" during the procedure. After the attempt, she spent several days on a ventilator and was presumed brain-dead by her lawyers. She returned to her prison cell after 10 days in hospital and can now talk and walk.

Groner called the event a "medical charade" and said the timeline showed no one in charge. Zivot cited a poorly written protocol and a lack of accountability as major failings. Both experts argued the incident exposes deep problems with lethal injection, the dominant method of execution in the US.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1995 for the murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer. Her lawyers had warned the state multiple times that her veins were exceptionally small and compromised. The state’s pause on executions follows this expert review and the national reckoning over the death penalty.