When a state sets out to carry out a death sentence, the expectation is that the process will be swift and clinical. But recent cases across the United States tell a very different story. From failed IV lines to prolonged gasping for breath, a growing number of executions are being described as botched, raising serious questions about the methods used and the humanity of the process itself.
In the latest case, a woman named Pike continued breathing for nearly an hour after receiving two rounds of lethal drugs. The state halted her execution and took her to a nearby hospital for treatment. Her lawyers said late on Wednesday that they had not been updated on her condition. The incident took place at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, the same prison where convicted murderer Tony Carruthers faced a similar ordeal earlier this year.
What happened in the Tony Carruthers case?
Carruthers was granted a one-year reprieve by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, after authorities botched his lethal injection in May. According to the US Department of Correction, medical personnel established a primary IV line but could not set up a backup line as required by the state's execution protocol. A subsequent effort also failed, and the execution was called off.
His attorney, Maria DeLiberato, described how Carruthers groaned in pain and bled during the attempt. The case prompted medical professionals to urge Governor Lee to suspend executions, arguing that the process does not comply with the law, the protocol, or basic human decency.
How does nitrogen gas execution work, and why is it controversial?
Nitrogen gas has been introduced as an alternative to lethal injection, but it has its own set of concerns. In October 2025, Alabama executed Boyd, convicted for a 1993 murder, using this method. Boyd had fought for a stay of execution, arguing in a lawsuit that nitrogen gas is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. He pointed to previous death row inmates who showed signs of terror and pain during the procedure, and he offered to die by firing squad, hanging, or medical aid instead.
Journalist Lee Hedgepeth, who witnessed the execution, reported that Boyd violently thrashed against his restraints and took deep gasping breaths for more than 15 minutes. He was declared dead nearly 40 minutes after the process began.
What went wrong in the Thomas Creech execution attempt?
In February 2024, authorities in Idaho stopped the execution of serial killer Thomas Creech after medical workers were unable to insert an IV line for lethal injection. Josh Tewalt, director of the Idaho Department of Correction, said the team attempted eight times to establish IV access before Creech was returned to his cell. The failed attempt highlighted concerns about the use of lethal injections and the training of those carrying out executions. Creech remains on death row.
Why did Kenneth Eugene Smith's execution take two attempts?
Alabama officials tried and failed to execute Kenneth Eugene Smith by lethal injection in 2022 for his role in a contract killing. Prison staff spent about an hour trying to find a vein, attempting several locations on his body, according to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm. They gained access to one vein but could not establish the second IV line required by protocol. By 11.21pm, the team realised they could not complete the process before the warrant expired at midnight.
It was the state's second failed lethal injection in two months, prompting Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, to temporarily pause executions for review. Smith was later executed in January 2024, becoming the first prisoner known to be executed using the nitrogen hypoxia method.
What does this mean for the future of the death penalty in the US?
These repeated failures are not just procedural mishaps. They point to a deeper problem with how the US carries out capital punishment. Lethal injection, once seen as a humane alternative, is increasingly difficult to administer due to a shortage of drugs and a lack of trained medical personnel. Nitrogen gas, introduced as a backup, is facing its own legal and ethical challenges.
For a country that debates the morality of state-sanctioned death, these botched executions add a practical dimension to the argument. When the state cannot carry out an execution without causing prolonged suffering, the question becomes not just whether the death penalty is right, but whether it can ever be done justly.
As the US continues to grapple with these issues, the rest of the world watches closely. New Zealand abolished the death penalty in 1989, and our own history shows that a society can move beyond state-sanctioned killing. The question is whether the US will follow, or continue to stumble through a system that increasingly seems unable to deliver what it promises.