Lethal Injection

Tennessee has paused all executions after an inmate survived two lethal injections Wednesday.

Christa Pike was sentenced to death for killing a classmate in 1995 at age 18, and she would’ve been the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. She received two doses of pentobarbital, administered ~60 minutes apart, but witnesses heard her breathing and snoring before she was hospitalized.

Days prior, Pike’s lawyers sought a stay of execution, citing her undisclosed history of abuse and mental illness. The Supreme Court allowed the execution in a last-minute 6-3 vote.

With complications in three of Tennessee’s last four scheduled executions, Gov. Bill Lee (R) paused the year’s final execution and ordered a third-party review of what went wrong. The Department of Correction said it followed protocol, calling lethal injection “consistently effective.”

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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
We live in a sinful, broken, and unfair world that is marred by sin. Even as we work and pray for justice, we can take comfort knowing that this is not our home and, through Christ, all things will ultimately be made right because of His perfect love and mercy.

“The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity.”
Job 12:10 (CSB) (read full passage)