pentobarbital

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Lawyer: Pike Was Injected at Least 7 Times

Multiple failed execution attempts raise concerns over Tennessee's lethal injection protocol

(Newser) - Christa Pike was supposed to be dead by Wednesday night. Instead, the 50-year-old remains hospitalized in critical condition after Tennessee's attempt to execute her by lethal injection failed , her attorneys said on Thursday, per NBC News . Lawyer Randall Spivey, who witnessed the effort, said he counted at least seven...

Mom of Pike Victim on Botched Execution: 'They F---ed Up'

May Martinez recalls life of daughter Colleen Slemmer, murdered in 1995

(Newser) - Colleen Slemmer's family marked what would've been her 51st birthday last month, more than three decades after her killing turned her name into a brief national headline. Her mother, May Martinez, says she still thinks of her daughter as a warm, easygoing young woman who loved bowling, roller-skating,...

Botched Execution Puts Sedative in the Spotlight

Two doses of pentobarbital failed to kill Christa Pike in Tennessee

(Newser) - The drug used by Tennessee in its unsuccessful attempt to execute Christa Pike on Wednesday night is more commonly used to treat emergency seizures than end lives. Pentobarbital, commonly sold as Nembutal, is a short-acting barbiturate that depresses the central nervous system, explains USA Today . It's primarily used as...

After Pike's Botched Execution, Tennessee Puts the Brakes On

Gov. Bill Lee suspends remaining 2026 lethal injection after state fails to execute Christa Pike

(Newser) - After Tennessee proved unable to put death row inmate Christa Pike to death , Gov. Bill Lee has temporarily closed the door to the state's execution chamber. On Thursday, Lee ordered a "comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what happened" during the attempted execution of Pike and canceled the...

After 'Unparalleled' Execution Failure, Christa Pike Still Alive

It's not clear what went wrong in failed lethal injection

(Newser) - Tennessee officials were unable to put Christa Gail Pike to death Wednesday for a 1995 murder after administering two doses of a lethal drug, the AP reports. A death penalty expert said it was an unprecedented failure. Pike was alive and loudly snoring after the attempted lethal injection and taken...

Man Executed Despite Cousin's Confession to Being the Shooter

James Broadnax convicted in robbery that left 2 dead in Texas

(Newser) - A North Texas man who claimed he wasn't the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago and who said prosecutors misused rap lyrics he wrote to secure his death sentence was executed Thursday evening, the AP reports. James Broadnax was pronounced dead after...

DOJ Bringing Back Firing Squads, Lethal Injections

Agency says it wants to 'strengthen' death penalty, also touts electrocution and gas asphyxiation

(Newser) - Firing squads are back on the federal government's list of execution options. Per CBS News , the Justice Department on Friday said it's reinstating the lethal injection protocol used during President Trump's first term and adding firing squads as an approved method, part of what the agency calls...

Tennessee's Lone Woman on Death Row Fights to Get Off

Christa Gail Pike challenging state's lethal injection protocol

(Newser) - Tennessee is moving to execute a woman for the first time in more than two centuries, though the 50-year-old death row inmate convicted of torturing and killing a romantic rival at 18 argues she's changed. Christa Gail Pike is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 30 for...

Judge Opens Up Media Access for Tennessee Executions

Ruling expands existing access for reporters that offered limited viewing window

(Newser) - A judge ruled on Friday that Tennessee prison officials must grant expanded access to media members to view state-run executions, after a coalition of news groups, including the AP , sued over claims that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit thorough and accurate reporting. Before Chancellor I'Ashea L. Myles' order, reporters...

Inmate Declines to Choose Between the Chair, Injection

State will use lethal injection for December execution date unless he changes his mind

(Newser) - A Tennessee death row inmate has opted not to choose how he will die, leaving the state to default to lethal injection for his upcoming execution. Harold Wayne Nichols, convicted in 1990 for the 1988 rape and murder of Chattanooga State University student Karen Pulley, had the option to decide...

Man Will Be First in 8 Years Executed Under a Blue Governor
Arizona Executes First
Inmate in Two Years
UPDATED
Mar 19, 2025 1:32 PM CDT

Arizona Executes First Inmate in Two Years

Aaron Brian Gunches received lethal injection

(Newser) - An Arizona man who kidnapped and murdered his girlfriend's ex-husband was executed Wednesday, the second of four prisoners scheduled to be put to death this week in the US, per the AP . Aaron Brian Gunches, 53, was lethally injected with pentobarbital at the Arizona State Prison Complex in the...

South Carolina Readies for Third Execution in 4 Months

State is clearing a backlog of Death Row prisoners since it got its hands on pentobarbital again

(Newser) - South Carolina is preparing to execute the third inmate since September as the state goes through a backlog of prisoners who exhausted their appeals while the state couldn't find lethal injection drugs. Marion Bowman Jr.'s execution is scheduled for 6pm Friday at a Columbia prison, reports the...

Death Row Inmate Asks to Expedite His Execution

State high court rejects Aaron Gunches' request for Valentine's Day, but it could happen in March

(Newser) - Aaron Gunches doesn't want to waste any more time. The death row inmate in Arizona, convicted of murdering his girlfriend's ex more than two decades ago, put in a handwritten request on New Year's Eve to the state's Supreme Court to circumvent the legal wrangling and...

Utah Executes Inmate for First Time in 14 Years

Taberon Honie was put to death by lethal injection in Salt Lake City

(Newser) - A Utah man who killed his girlfriend's mother by slashing her throat was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday in the state's first execution since 2010. Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was convicted of aggravated murder in the July 1998 death of Claudia Benn, the maternal grandmother...

Report: Texas Bought Its Execution Drug From 'Pill Mill'

NPR probe finds state scooped up pentobarbital made by San Antonio compound pharmacy

(Newser) - When Texas tried in the past to get its hands on pentobarbital, a drug used in lethal injections there to mixed success, pharmaceutical companies said they wanted no part of the execution circuit. The state apparently found another conduit. After a review of federal DEA records and files from the...

On Executions, More Should Follow Connecticut's Lead

Austin Sarat writes a piece in favor of a planned bill in the state

(Newser) - Connecticut became the 17th state to abolish capital punishment in 2012, and some of its lawmakers are looking to double down on that anti-death penalty stance. In a piece for Slate , Austin Sarat looks at the legislative push and encourages "legislators in other abolitionist states" to follow Connecticut's...

After 'Years of Effort,' Indiana's Death Penalty May Resume

Officials finally get hands on pentobarbital for lethal injections, though it's not clear from where

(Newser) - The state of Indiana hasn't put someone to death in 15 years, but that streak is soon about to be broken. GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb announced on Wednesday that he and fellow Republican Todd Rokita, the state's attorney general, are seeking to execute 49-year-old Joseph Corcoran, with Rokita...

Texas Inmate's Last Words: I Didn't Do It

Ivan Cantu has long claimed he didn't kill his cousin, cousin's girlfriend

(Newser) - A Texas man who had long claimed his conviction more than 20 years ago was based on false testimony and questionable evidence was executed Wednesday for fatally shooting two people, including his cousin, the AP reports. Ivan Cantu received a lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 6:47pm at...

South Carolina Gets Its Hands on Death Penalty Drug

State has obtained pentobarbital to carry out lethal injections, will resume executions after 12 years

(Newser) - South Carolina has obtained a drug needed to carry out lethal injections and is ready to perform the state's first execution in over 12 years, officials announced Tuesday. South Carolina used to be one of the most prolific states in the nation when it came to putting inmates to...

Missouri Executes Man Who Claimed Innocence Till the End

Raheem Taylor was convicted of killing his live-in girlfriend, her 3 kids

(Newser) - A Missouri man convicted of killing his live-in girlfriend and her three young children was executed Tuesday despite his claims that he was in another state when the killings occurred. As the AP reports, Raheem Taylor, 58, was the third Missouri inmate put to death since November at the state...

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