Sen. Marsha Blackburn Calls for Return of Electric Chair Following Christa Pike's Failed Execution

Christa Pike's failed execution has reignited a debate over how Tennessee should carry out the death penalty, following a rising number of failed attempts at execution via lethal drugs. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has paused the state's remaining scheduled executions, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Marsha Blackburn has called for the return of the electric chair.

Why Sen. Blackburn suggests the electric chair method to return

Christa Pike was originally sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, at a time when the electric chair was still in practice in Tennessee and she was planned to be executed with that method. After surviving two lethal doses and regaining consciousness, Sen. Blackburn stated that she would "bring back the electric chair" if elected governor.

Blackburn argued that Pike's survival after the state administered two doses of lethal-injection drugs should not prevent Tennessee from carrying out death sentences. Her remarks followed Gov. Bill Lee's decision to order a review of the failed execution.