{
  "id": 11523934,
  "title": "Christa Pike survived lethal injection. How your state carries out executions",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/christa-pike-survived-lethal-injection-how-your-state-carries-out",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T20:53:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Axios",
    "slug": "axios",
    "url": "https://www.axios.com/2026/10/02/christa-pike-lethal-injection-state-execution-methods"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Christa Pike, a woman convicted of a 1992 murder, survived two lethal injection doses in Tennessee, a development that has sparked scrutiny of execution protocols across the country. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, lethal injection is the most frequently used method of execution in the United States, accounting for about 89% of the 1,683 executions carried out since 1976. More than two dozen states utilize lethal injection as their primary execution method. Alternative methods authorized by individual states include electrocution, lethal gas, and firing squads. Notably, Idaho is the only state where firing squads are the primary method of execution. Some states allow convicted prisoners to choose among the various execution methods. The Supreme Court mandates that the death penalty can only be imposed for the most serious crimes. Pike, who survived the execution attempt, remains on a ventilator and is unconscious, marking the first time in over two centuries that a woman has survived execution in Tennessee.",
  "summary": "Data: Death Penalty Information Center ; Note: New Hampshire abolished the death penalty but retains one prisoner on death row; Map: Erin Davis/Axios Christa Pike 's survival after two lethal injection doses has put state execution protocols nationwide under new scrutiny. The big picture: How prisoners are executed varies by state , with lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas and firing…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}