A woman survived lethal injection. Here’s how executions work across the US

In the wake of a botched execution in Tennessee, the United States execution methods have come under intense scrutiny. Across the country, lethal injection is by far the most common execution method, used in 28 states and at federal level. This method accounted for 39 out of 47 executions carried out in 2025. In 2024, Alabama became the first place in the world to use nitrogen inhalation, a method compared by UN experts to a form of "torture."

South Carolina became the first U.S. state to use firing squads since 2010, marking three executions by this method.

However, drug supply issues have plagued some states including South Carolina, Utah and Indiana, which resumed executions in 2024 after a decade-long suspension. Electrocution and gas inhalation are the next most common methods, each authorized in nine states, while firing squads are used in five states.

Execution methods are not without risk. In 1983, John Evans in Alabama suffered a leg fire after the first electric shock, requiring three shocks to stop his heart. In Ohio in 2009, Romell Broom endured 18 needle pricks before his death from Covid-19 in December 2020. Even firing squads, deemed more effective, have their challenges. During Mikal Mahdi's execution in South Carolina in 2025, shooters missed the heart, causing the execution to take longer. Nitrogen inhalation in Alabama also faced issues, currently on hold.

Organizations campaigning for the abolition of the death penalty, like Laura Porter, director of a coalition, find no perfect execution method, describing the process as incredibly stressful and harmful to corrections officers. Porter argues that until the secrecy surrounding executions is lifted, no lasting solutions will be possible.