A survived execution exposes the grim science of lethal injection

Tennessee's attempted execution of Christa Pike via pentobarbital failed, leaving her unconscious for nearly a week with chemical burns on her arms, swollen hands, and damaged ability to eat, according to a memo from her attorneys. Medical experts cited attribute the failure to a collapsed vein and a pre-existing blood disorder that made IV placement difficult, meaning most of the drug likely never reached her bloodstream in a lethal concentration.

The piece details pentobarbital's broader record in executions: it is highly caustic and has been linked in autopsy studies to flash pulmonary edema, a condition researchers compare to the sensation of waterboarding, found in a majority of a 43-execution sample reviewed by one researcher. Arizona's prison system has not explained why the condition hasn't appeared in its three most recent pentobarbital executions and declined to comment.

The drug itself is obtained through opaque channels — its manufacturer refuses to sell it for executions, so states buy pentobarbital salts on secondary markets and rely on compounding pharmacists whose identities, like those of execution staff, are protected by state law.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.